


Soulmates

by Rachaelm



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Damon is a daddy, Death, Don't like Tanner either, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Love, Marriage, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Pregnancy, So does Elena, Sophia Jacobs, Stefan annoys me, Vaginal Sex, Violence, Wedding, baby girl - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:33:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 143,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachaelm/pseuds/Rachaelm
Summary: Imogen is older sister to Elena and Jeremy. 8 months after meeting a certain raven haired, blue eyed Vampire at a party she gives birth to a baby girl. How is that even possible and what adventures lie ahead?
Relationships: Damon Salvatore/Original Female Character(s), Elijah Mikaelson/Damon Salvatore, Elijah Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Mikaelson Family & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 142
Kudos: 174





	1. Now I See The World Through Diamond Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever attempt at writing TVD fanfiction. The idea was rolling round my head and wouldn't go away until I did something about it.
> 
> Please let me know if you think it's worth continuing. The first two chapters are completely my own, Chapter 3 will start to follow the show from the Pilot. There will be some dialogue from the show used, but I want to keep this to a minimum where possible as I don't want to be just copy and pasting show transcripts.
> 
> I own nothing TVD related. I wish I owned Damon, we would have so much fun. Imogen and Scarlett are my own though.
> 
> Please let me know what you think and if it's worth continuing.

**Chapter 1 - Now I See The World Through Diamond Eyes**

**September 27th 2008, Columbus, Ohio**

**Song: Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay BOOM); Shinedown**

_I am the shadow, and the smoke in your eyes,_

_I am the ghost, that hides in the night_

**Imogen’s POV**

It was late September and we were in Columbus, Ohio. We’d come out on a trip with the girl’s trip to see one of my favourite bands, Shinedown, and were making a weekend of it. I’d been dragged to a party the night after the show however as much as I love a good party but after the state I had gotten myself in the night before there was no way I was going to touch alcohol tonight. I was lingering around the outside of the room watching my friends get drunk and flirt their way around the boys when I locked on the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. Then they disappeared.

**Damon’s POV**

I’d come to this party to do the usual; eat and enjoy myself. Parties full of drunk high schoolers or college parties are always a good place to practice snatch-eat-erase, and if I can find a hot girl to take to bed who am I to complain? I was wondering around drinking my signature glass of bourbon when I locked eyes with the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my 169 years. Her eyes were a beautiful chocolate shade of brown and she had mid length brown hair that I was dying to run my fingers through. The intense feelings hit me like a ton of bricks. My humanity was off. What. The. Fuck. I quickly made my way outside because having a full on vampire freak out was not going to end well and I didn’t need to be caught at a high school party.

**Imogen’s POV**

Feeling bored I decided to make my way outside. I was wondering around lost in my thoughts when I saw the back of a man in a black leather jacket up ahead leaning on the railings. His raven black hair was dishevelled as though he’d been running his hands through it. He downed the remains of his drink and looked up, his eyes locking on mine. The same blue eyes that I’d seen inside. I instantly felt my insides turn to jelly; he was hot and his gaze so intense.

“I... Uh.... I d-didn't mean to interrupt” I stammered.

“You didn’t” he replied with a smirk that made my ovaries declare they had to have his babies.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“Just thinking” he replied. “What about you?”

“I just needed some air. I’m not drinking after getting myself in a state at a show last night” I replied. “Lost my friends too” I say, waving my phone.

“I’m Damon” he said, his voice husky with lust.

“Imogen Gilbert” I blurt, blushing. I have no clue why I’ve just given a total stranger my last name.

“Lovely to meet you, _Imogen_ ” he said in a voice that makes my insides melt. I blushed harder.

He licked his lips and gazed at me. He was the hottest man I had ever seen. I stepped forward towards him, feeling a pull that I didn’t want to fight. He in turn took a step towards me and the next thing I knew his hands were cupping my cheeks and our lips were millimetres apart. My heart was racing and I was breathing hard from being so aroused by him. I slid my hands up around his neck and started to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. He closed the gap and crashed his lips to mine, his tongue running along the seam of my lips begging for entry. I opened my mouth to him and his tongue dove in. The kiss was passionate and ignited a fire deep in my belly. Too soon I had to pull away so I could catch my breath.

“Wow” I breathed.

“Anything strange that you see or do tonight you will not worry about. Just go with it like it’s normal” he said to me, his pupils dilating as he did.

“Everything is normal” I replied in monotone voice.

“We’re going to find a room” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me. I nodded in response. He wanted sex. With me. Who am I to argue? I tried not to think of the feelings that were stirring inside me. Feelings I had never felt before and were certainly more feelings than are appropriate for a one night stand. I grabbed the hand he held out to me, suppressing a shudder as it felt like electric sparks shot up my arm as he did, and allowed him to lead me away.

**Damon’s POV**

I’m outside leaning on the railing, trying to calm myself down and forget about the girl I had just seen. The girl who with one look had managed to make me feel, break through and find my humanity. The girl who was more beautiful than Katherine Pierce, who had made me almost forget about spending the last 144 years waiting for a damn comet so I could get her out of the tomb and we could be together again. The girl who I felt a pull towards even though I didn’t even know her name. This was ridiculous! How could one girl make me, Damon Salvatore, feel just with one look when my humanity has been off since 1958?! I heard footsteps approaching and downed the rest of my drink. Looking up I saw it was her. In that instant I decided that I was going to make her my evening meal, after giving her the best night of her life, of course. Might as well enjoy the evening. We made small talk, briefly and I found out her name. Imogen Gilbert. I wonder if she’s from Mystic Falls briefly before kissing her. The kiss is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and I’ve kissed a lot of women, even after being celibate for the first 50 years of my Vampire life. I grabbed her hand and led her off to find a room after compelling her to not worry about anything out of the ordinary, you know like fangs, me drinking her blood, the usual Vampire shit. Can’t have her freaking out mid meal now can I?

Once upstairs I locked the bedroom door and kissed her again. The sparks felt like they were literally flying. What the fuck? I lifted her up and wrapped her legs around my waist, pinning her up against the wall before moving my hands to her breasts over her top. She moaned into my mouth as we kissed and I lifted her top over her head, leaving her in her red lacy bra. I nipped at her nipples through the fabric and could feel them pebble as I did, which made me harder than I already was.

She started unbuttoning my shirt, and pushed it off my shoulders. I shrugged out of it and let it fall to the floor as she started running her hands over my sculpted chest and abdomen. I groaned in response. I moved my hands under her thighs and moved us to the bed.

“I need to be in you” I growled.

“Do it then” she gasped in reply.

I practically ripped her jeans off and found she wore a lacy red thong that matched her bra. I slipped my hands under her back and unclipped her bra, sliding the straps off her shoulders and throwing it across the room. I then hooked my thumbs in the elastic of her thong and slid it down her legs. She was even more beautiful naked and I felt myself harden even further.

“You’re wearing too many clothes” she moaned, whilst running her hands down to the buckle of my belt. I helped her and we made quick work of removing my jeans and boxers. I kissed her again whilst teasing her entrance with the tip of my cock, finding her extremely wet.

“You’re so fucking wet” I growled whilst I slid the tip through her folds to tease her clit.

“I need you” she breathed “please!”

I pulled back so I could lock eyes with her, and slowly started to enter her.

“You’re so fucking tight” I grunted as I filled her to the hilt, pausing to allow her to get used to me inside her.

“Oh God” she moaned “that feels so good” as she started to rotate her hips indicating she was ready for me to move.

I started thrusting in and out, slowly at first but building up speed and momentum. Normally there would be much more foreplay and I would make sure the woman had at least 2 orgasms before I even entered her, but something about this brunette had me unravelled and I wasn’t able to wait. I had to be inside her and it was fucking amazing. As we were both getting close to our climax I felt an unbearable want to blood share. I have no idea why, it’s not something I do, even with Vampire sexual partners. I let my vampire side take over and bit into my wrist.

“Drink” I gasped, putting my wrist to her mouth as I continued to thrust in and out of her. She looked at me momentarily then put her mouth around the open wound and started to drink. I leaned down to her neck and kissed it where I would bite, then gently slipped my fangs in. The blood sharing was enough to tip us both over the edge and we came together. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I’ve had a lot of sex over the years. Once we had rode out the waves of our climaxes we collapsed into each others arms, breathing heavily. I knew that this girl was special, but I also knew that now was not a good time for anything more than a one night stand. After catching our breath we both got dressed. I kissed her again, and caught her eyes with mine.

“You will not remember tonight until I tell you to. You had hot sex with a stranger. It was a one night stand and you have no idea who it was”

“I hope we see each other again some day” I whispered, kissing her forehead and vamped out of the room before she could blink following the compulsion.

**Imogen’s POV**

I blinked and found myself standing in a bedroom at the party. I remembered having hot sex with a stranger, but I was alone in the room. I put my fingers to my neck as it felt a little tender, but couldn’t feel anything there. I went downstairs to find my friends and head back to the hotel we were staying at.


	2. When Ashes Fall, The Legends Rise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this so far. Here is Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is in progress, but won't be ready for a few days.

**May 23rd 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: When Legends Rise; Godsmack**

_'Throat is dry, my vision's fading_

_I'm paralyzed and left here waiting_

_Taking time, just one step forward_

_Won't lose my mind, I'm here to stay_

_It's burning down, it's burning high_

_When ashes fall, the legends rise_

_We burn it out a mile wide_

_When ashes fall, the legends rise'_

**Imogen's POV**

Tonight is meant to be family night, but my dear little sister, Elena, decided to ditch us and go to a party. I'm 2 years older than her. I was 19 in April and she'll be 17 in June. I'm the big disappointment though. Back in September I was at a party in Columbus on a girl's weekend trip, had a one night stand with a guy I don't remember and got pregnant. I wasn't drinking though so I don't know why I can't remember who he was. By the time I stopped being in denial and told my parents I was 4 months pregnant and refused to do anything other than keep it. My parents are not overly happy that I got into this situation but are being supportive and we have everything ready for her arrival. We found out I'm having a girl at one of my ultrasound appointments. I'm 8 months along now so baby should be here in just a few weeks. I'm nervous but also excited. I'm also enjoying the fact that tonight they're pissed at 'Lena for ditching family night as she's just called having had a fight with Matt and now they have to go pick her up, leaving me with my baby brother, Jeremy and Aunt Jenna.

I was just wondering where my parents had gotten to, it didn't take _that_ long to pick Elena up, surely, when the phone rang. Jenna answered. I half listened until she gasped, at which point she got my full attention.

"Ok, we'll be right there" she cried and hung up the phone.

"There's been an accident" she said, turning to us both. "We need to get to the hospital, now"

I looked at Jeremy and saw the same fear I imagine my face also showed. We jumped up and followed Jenna to her car, and she drove us to the hospital.

When we got there we ran into the ER. We were met by Sheriff Forbes.

"I'm so sorry" she said, tears in her eyes. "The car went off the Wickery Bridge. Elena is alive, but Miranda and Grayson didn't make it"

"No!" I cried out, tears blurring my vision. As I cried out for the loss of my parents I felt a sharp pain across my belly. I clutched my arms across my belly and gasped with the pain.

"Imogen!" Jenna, Jeremy and Sheriff Forbes all shouted in unison.

"The baby!" I gasped, as a nurse approached me with a wheelchair before taking me to a room.

I was examined and apparently the shock of my parents dying in the accident had triggered labour. Several agonising hours later, my black haired blue eyed angel came into the world.

"She's beautiful" Jenna said, with tears in her eyes. It was such a bittersweet day. "What are you going to call her?"

"I was going to call her Scarlett Lily Gilbert, but with what's happened I think it will be Scarlett Miranda Lily Gilbert. She can have two middle names" I said, tears sliding down my cheeks. I looked at my angel and pressed a kiss to her forehead before looking up at Jenna, who was also crying.

"I think that's perfect" she replied with a smile.

* * *

A few days later I was home with my baby girl. Aunt Jenna had been appointed our guardian so she had moved in with us. It was the day of our parents funeral and I was getting ready when she started fussing. I picked her up and adjusted my top so I could feed her. I was sitting on my bed when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in" I said, and the door opened revealing Elena.

"I just came to see if you needed help with Scarlett whilst you get ready" she said.

"Thanks, but not sure you can feed her" I joked. She grimaced in response. I love my sister, and I know she loves her niece, but she's really not into anything other than cuddling her.

"I'll be fine, just give me a few minutes to feed her and we'll be ready to go" I said.

"Ok, I'll let the others know" and she left.

Once Scarlett was finished I burped her, rearranged my clothes and fastened her into her cat seat before making my way downstairs.

The funeral passed by in a blur, although I got the feeling I was being watched and I'm sure I caught a glimpse of a set of incredible blue eyes that looked vaguely familiar.

**Damon's POV**

I'm back in good old Mystic Falls. It's nearly time for the comet which will finally let me get Katherine out of the tomb she's been stuck in for the last 145 years. It's been my driving force since Stefan forced me to complete the transition in 1864, but ever since I met _her_ I'm pretty sure I'm only doing it because I feel that I have to. It's been 8 months since that night and my humanity has been creeping back in, despite my best efforts to keep it out. I've tried to get her out of my head, to forget her, but I just can't shake her. What makes it worse is that I haven't even _wanted_ to go on a murderous spree just for the hell of it. One night and she changed me. I don't even know how that's fucking possible. I enjoy being a Vampire. I _revel_ in it, unlike my brooding baby brother. Fuck. I'm not turning into Stefan. I. Am. NOT. Turning into Stefan.

I did some 'research' after I couldn't find any trace of Imogen in the days after the party and I discovered that there is an Imogen Gilbert in Mystic Falls and she along with some of her friends were in Columbus that weekend. What are the chances?!

I fought for months. I'm a big bad vampire. Not a smushy mushy fool. Try as I might she won't go away. She's under my skin, stuck in my head. So here I am. Two birds, one stone and all that shit.

My first night back I decided to do my favourite trick and play possum in a road near the woods. There was a high school bonfire nearby, so I was hoping someone would stray. Not that I would kill them. Stupid humanity. I'm lying in the road when I hear a voice that sounds _awfully_ familiar, but also impossible. I look up and I'm startled for a second before I jump up and vamp in front of her.

"Katherine?" I asked.

"No... um... I... I'm Elena" she says, glancing behind to check I'm not talking to someone else. She's definitely not Katherine. I can hear her heartbeat and she's human. She also some similarities to Imogen, I wonder if they're related.

"Oh, you... you just look...I'm sorry... you just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon" I reply.

"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

"You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself."

"It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here."

I fight the urge to chuckle. If only she knew.

"Got into a fight with my boyfriend" she says, briefly waving her phone at me.

"About what? May I ask." Holding my hands up. Got to keep on her good side in case she can lead me to Imogen.

"Life, future, he's got it all mapped out."

"And you don't want it?"

"I don't know what I want."

"Well, that's not true. You want what everybody wants."

"What, mysterious stranger who has all the answers?"

I fight the urge to roll my eyes at her flirting. Wait. What? Since when does a pretty girl flirting with me actually bother me?!

"Hmmm, well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things."

'That's an understatement' I think to myself.

"So, Damon, tell me. What is it that I want?"

I take a step closer as I know I'm going to have to compel her to forget this little chat.

"You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, an adventure, and even a little danger."

"So, what do you want?"

I hesitate, thinking how to respond. Can't tell her I'm obsessed with a girl from a one night stand months ago, can I?!

A car horn beeps and we look around to see a car coming up the road.

"It's my parents"

Saved by the parents. Thank fuck.

"I want you to get everything that you're looking for, but right now I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing that I'm in town yet. Goodnight, Elena." I compel her and vamp out of her eyeline.

I wait until she's in the car and they're driving away before following. Something tells me Elena might lead me to Imogen. As I'm following the car I see it skid off Wickery Bridge. I was about to jump in when I saw _him_. My baby brother, Stefan. We're on the outs (for a change!) And I don't want him knowing I'm in town. I see him jump in after the car. That means he's going to see Elena is Katherine's doppelganger. I watch from the shadows as Stefan pulls Elena out of the car to the bank and the ambulance and sheriff arrive so he disappears

I follow them to the hospital and hide in the shadows. I see _her_ arrive with a boy and a slightly older lady and she is heavily pregnant. I feel extremely protective, for what reason I have no idea. There's no chance that baby is mine; Vampires can't procreate. Perhaps it's because it's Imogen and I know that despite only meeting her that one night I would give my life for her. I follow them into the ER where I see the trio speaking to the Sheriff. I overhear her telling them that Miranda and Grayson didn't make it, and I see Imogen cry out in pain clutching her bump. I watch as she is taken away in a wheelchair.

After lurking round the hospital for several hours (because I need to make sure Imogen is okay) I hear a new born babies cry coming from the room Imogen is in. Knowing the baby and Imogen are healthy I go and find someone to feed on before coming back a couple of hours later and heading to the nursery. I compel the nurse to let me in but not tell anyone I was there and find baby Gilbert. It's a girl and as I look at her shock of black hair she opens her eyes, looking at me with blue eyes that are identical to my own. I'm mesmerised but I still don't understand how she can look like me.

For the next few months I kept my eye on Imogen and the baby, who appears to be named Scarlett, to make sure they are safe. Sometimes I keep watch myself and other times I use a crow, one of my favourite Vampire parlour tricks which I started to use more after she locked eyes with me at her parents' funeral. I'm not ready to officially meet her yet, Stefan can't know I'm in town. He always thinks the worst of me, which seriously pisses me off. I know he's been following Elena too, looking for a Katherine replacement no doubt.

It's soon September and Stefan decides to start school so he can officially 'meet' Elena. As much as I would love to 'meet' Imogen, there's no way I'm going to college. I'll find another way.


	3. Make My Black Eyes Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 3. This starts to follow the show, and does have a large piece of show dialogue where Damon shows up in Stefan's room. Please let me know what you think.
> 
> I own nothing TVD related, only Imogen and Scarlett are mine. I do wish I owned Damon though.

**September 7th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Black Eyes Blue; Corey Taylor**

_I know that there's no other way_

_I know that there is nothing more that I can say_

_Make my black eyes blue_

_I fall for you_

**Imogen's POV**

Beep Beep Beep Beep

I groan and roll over, turning the alarm off. It's the first day back at school for 'Lena and Jeremy. I enrolled in community college since I have Scarlett to worry about now, so I start there today too. I look up at the crib in the corner of the room where my angel is sleeping and smile. At just over 3 months old she is the centre of my universe. I never thought I would be a teen mom but here I am and I truly wouldn't change it for the world. I would love to know who her dad is though. I know she gets her eyes from him as no one in our family has blue eyes and black hair, and since her eyes are beautiful his must be too. They also remind me of a pair of blue orbs I locked with at my parents' funeral, but I couldn't find who they belonged to after the service.

I drag myself out of bed and into the bathroom so I can shower before she wakes. I'm getting dressed when I hear her stir so I quickly finish up and head to pick her up from her crib. I quickly change her diaper and adjust my top so I can feed her whilst making a mental note to remember to take some expressed milk to daycare for her. The local community college has a daycare on campus and I can go and see her between classes but she'll need to have a bottle available in case she gets hungry when I'm not there. Once she's fed I get her changed and we head downstairs.

As I walk in I hear Jenna saying that she can make toast for breakfast. She's not the world's greatest cook.

"It's all about the coffee Jenna" I reply, with Elena nodding in agreement. She pours me a cup which Jeremy then swipes. She rolls her eyes and pours me another cup, followed by one for herself.

"Your first day of school and college and I'm totally unprepared'" Jenna says. "Lunch money?"

"I'm good" Elena replies whilst Jeremy swipes the cash from Jen-Jen's hand.

"Anything else? A number 2 pencil? What am I missing?"

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" I say.

"I'm meeting my thesis advisor at..." Jenna looks at her watch "now. Crap!"

"Then go, we'll be fine" replied Elena. Jenna headed out of the door, leaving the 3 of us to finish up.

Jeremy disappeared upstairs and Elena fetched Scarlett's car seat, putting it on the table so I could strap her in.

"I can't believe today is her first day in daycare" I say.

"I know" replied Elena. A car horn beeped outside. "That will be Bonnie. You meeting us at the grill later Immy?"

"Yep I replied, popping the 'p' "I will be there around 5.30pm"

"See you later then" Elena smiled whilst heading out of the door. I grabbed my bag, Scarlett's diaper bag, her bottles of milk and her car seat and head out to my car. I hear a squawking from the tree outside my bedroom window and look up to see a black crow.

"Hi bird" I smile. I've noticed crows a few times over the last few months.

Once I have Scarlett's eat fastened in securely I head to college to drop her at daycare and head to my classes, not noticing the crow from the tree following my car.

* * *

The day went by slowly. It's the first time I've had to be away from Scarlett since she was born and I miss her. I popped into daycare when I could to feed her and also to just cuddle my beautiful girl.

College is finally over so I head to daycare, pick up Scarlett and we head to the grill. I know it seems strange to be hanging out with my younger sister and her friends but all my friends have gone away to college now. Not that they really cared before they went away. Ever since I had Scarlett I have been feeling left out. No invites to hang out or go to parties. Even my close group of friends who I went to Columbus with have been pretty much ignoring me since Scarlett arrived. I guess that's what happens when you get yourself pregnant young. I try not to dwell and Elena and her friends have taken me under their wing since they realised my own friends had pretty much ditched me.

At the grill I see Bonnie and Caroline in a booth. I overhear Matt asking Bonnie how Elena is and roll my eyes. She was unhappy before the accident and had broken up with Matt after, but it was obvious he still pined for her. He felt way more for Elena than she felt for him. I'm pretty sure she only gave things a go because they've been friends since the sandbox and she felt she owed him the chance to try. Everyone knows that's not really the best grounds for a relationship. You need to feel passion, and there just wasn't any of that there. At least that's what I thought a relationship was. Passion, adventure and to feel consumed by the love.

I head over to the table, car seat in one hand and diaper bag over my shoulder.

"Imogen, hey!" Bonnie says as Matt walks away.

"Hi Immy! And my gorgeous Scarlett!" Caroline croons. She's obsessed with my daughter.

"Hey" I reply. "Elena not here yet?"

"Not yet, I'm sure she will be here any minute" Bonnie says, taking the car seat out of my hand and unbuckling my Daughter before lifting her out for a cuddle. I love how my sister's (and mine now) friends adore Scarlett, but it makes me sad that my own friends had just walked away.

I settle in the seat next to Bonnie and look up to see my sister entering with a brown haired boy. "Who is she with?" I ask.

"That is Stefan Salvatore, he's the new guy" Caroline stated.

Elena and Stefan head over to our table and join us. Bonnie passes me Scarlett who starts looking up at me and cooing baby noises at me.

"Immy! I'd like you to meet Stefan Salvatore. Stefan, this is Imogen, my sister and her daughter, my niece, Scarlett"

"Hi, nice to meet you" Stefan says to me. He's good looking but not my type. I much prefer bad boys. He's definitely Elena's type though.

Caroline starts asking questions. Apparently Stefan was born here but moved away when he was younger. His parents have also died, and apparently he is on the outs with any siblings he has. He's definitely into Elena as when the back to school party at The Falls is brought up he eagerly asks Elena if she's going. Bonnie informs him that she is. I won't be going, as much as I loved a good party once upon a time I have Scarlett now. I know Aunt Jenna would look after her for me, but I want to spend all the time I can with her after being without her most of the day at college.

A little while later Scarlett starts to get fussy. I take her to the bathroom and change her diaper then arrange my top so I can feed her. I'm getting better at feeding her in public but I'm not comfortable enough yet to do it in front of Stefan who I've literally only just met.

Once Scarlett is fed and burped she passes out in my arms. I head back out and strap her in her car seat. Elena and I say our goodbyes and head home.

* * *

I settle Scarlett into her crib for the night and I sit on my window seat doing my college work. There's a tapping on my window and I look up to see a crow. I've grown used to them over the last few months, but I've not had one tap on my window for my attention before.

I open the window and the bird hops in.

"Hi bird" I say and he clicks his beak at me. "You're friendly aren't you" and he ducks his head as if he's nodding. I tentatively reached out and gently stroked his head with my finger. He seemed to lean in as if he was enjoying it. I chuckled lightly and he clicked his beak at me again before hopping back out of the window and flying over to the tree next to my window. He seemed to be getting settled to stay there a while, almost as if he is watching over us. I smile to myself and get changed in my bathroom before getting in bed and going to sleep.

* * *

**September 8th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The next day after college I head to The coffee shop. I know Elena is going to the party at the falls and Jenna will be out for the evening, and I just don't feel like going home to an empty house. I'm sat cuddling Scarlett sipping my coffee and eating my panini when the most beautiful man I've ever seen walks and I swear my heart stutters. He isn't particularly tall, only a couple of inches taller than my 5'7", he has a shock of black hair and blue eyes that are identical to the baby in my arms. I look away, blushing. When I look back up he's at the counter placing his order. I go back to my coffee.

**Damon's POV**

I've had my crow watching Imogen the last couple of days. Last night she even talked to him and then he went to sit in the tree to watch over her and Scarlett for the night. When she goes to the coffee shop by herself after college I decide it's the perfect opportunity to officially 'meet' her so I head there myself. I can feel her looking at me whilst cuddling the baby when I walk in and I can hear her heart stutter as she looks. I suppress a smirk when she looks away blushing and head to the counter to order a coffee. Once I have my coffee (which I wish was bourbon!) I saunter over to her table.

"Mind if I join you?" I ask. I see her jump a little and she blushes again.

"Errr...yes, go ahead" she stammers.

"I'm Damon. Damon Salvatore" I say with a smile.

"Err...Imogen Gilbert. And this is Scarlett" she says, inclining her head towards the baby.

"She's beautiful, much like her mother" I reply, causing her to blush again.

"Thank you. So... are you new in town?" she asks.

"Yes and no" I reply. She gives me a quizzical look. "I was born here, but we moved away. Myself and my brother have recently moved back. We're staying at the old Salvatore boarding house"

"Oh! Your brother's Stefan!" she exclaims. I nod in response. "I met him last night at The Grill. He's in school with my sister, Elena" she tells me. I already knew this of course, but I can't let her know. Stefan isn't even aware I'm in town yet but I'll be making my presence known to him later. "He said he doesn't talk to you"

"We've had our differences, but I'm hoping we can put those behind us" I reply. I _am_ hoping we can start to build some bridges, but I won't be making it easy for him. Even though I'm pretty sure I don't love Katherine any longer, I am still pissed Stefan is the reason she was caught by the founder's council in 1864, and there's also the fact that he forced me to complete the transition to be a Vampire when I had chosen to die. That was before I found out Katherine had been saved by Emily. She was in the tomb under Fell's Church but at the time I hadn't wanted to face an eternal life without her.

"I hope you can. I would be lost without my siblings" she said with a small smile.

We made small talk for a little while before she asked me if I could hold Scarlett whilst she went to the bathroom.

"Err.. I've not really been around babies much" I say nervously. I've honestly not been near a baby since Stefan was one. Vampires and babies don't tend to mix. I'm willing to try for Imogen and Scarlett though. I just hope no one realises this girl has me going soft.

She chuckles softly and smiles. "You just hold her like this, supporting her head" as she places the baby in my arms, showing me how to hold her. As she does her hand grazes mine and I feel a jolt of electricity run up my arm like it did the night in Columbus almost a year ago. She jerks her hand back so I'm sure she felt it too. "I'll be as quick as I can" she says before heading to the bathroom. I look down at the baby in my arms and she blinks up at me and gurgles. I smile and again look into eyes that are so like my own.

**Imogen's POV**

When the handsome stranger came over and asked to join me I was shocked. Why would he want to join me when I have a baby? I say yes anyway. We chat for a while and I discover he's Stefan's brother, although they had a falling out and haven't talked in a while. I really need to use the bathroom, and I feel safe and like I can trust him, so I ask him to hold Scarlett whilst I go. He says he's not been around children much and I can tell he's nervous. I show him how to hold her and when my hand brushes his a jolt of electricity goes up my arm from the contact. When I come back he's smiling down at her whilst she gurgles happily back. It doesn't go unnoticed to me that he is gazing down at her adoringly.

I take my seat and smile at the pair.

"You're really good with her, despite being nervous" I say. He looks up at me and smirks before handing her back over.

"I really should go" he says.

"Oh...okay" I say, feeling a little disappointed. I feel a pull towards him which I just can't explain and I don't want h to leave yet.

"It was lovely to meet you. Perhaps we can meet again" he asks and I nod shyly. I give him my number and he says he will send me a text later so I have his.

We say our goodbyes and I get Scarlett in her seat before heading home. Once there I feed her and get her settled for the night. I hear Elena, Jeremy and Jenna come home and I grab the baby monitor before heading downstairs where they tell me about the party and how Vicki Donovan was attacked my some kind of animal. After that I head back upstairs to bed. I notice the crow in the tree again. I smile and say goodnight to it before getting in bed. My phone beeps with a message, so I reach over to the table next to my bed and grab it. I see the message is from a number not saved in my phone.

_**Just wanted to say goodnight to you and Scarlett - Damon** _

My heart skips a beat and I grin that he actually sent me a message as I thought he was just being polite. I save his number and quickly tap out a reply.

_**Goodnight from us both xo - Imogen** _

I place my phone back on the table and lie down. As I'm drifting off I hear Elena talking to Stefan in her room.

**Damon's POV**

After leaving Imogen at the coffee shop I head to the party at the falls. I know Stefan is there and the perfect way to torment him is to feed from someone and leave them to be found alive. I find a girl that is away from the party and feed from her, before leaving her collapsed on the ground (still alive though, stupid humanity that Imogen has me feeling won't let me actually kill her). I then head to the boarding house, sending Imogen a message on my way. A genuine smile spreads across my face at her response. I tuck my phone back in my pocket before heading in to let Stefan know I'm in town. I send my crow into his room first before jumping up onto his balcony so he can see me through the open doors.

"Damon" he says, clearly not happy to see me.

"Hello, brother" I reply with a smirk.

"Crow's a bit much don't you think?" he asks.

"Wait 'til you see what I can do with the fog" I reply, still smirking.

"When did you get here?"

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school. Your hair's different. I like it" I reply as I rifle through his bookshelf.

"It's been 15 years, Damon."

"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look? Did not suit you. Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads." I chuckle in response.

"Why are you here?"

"I miss my little brother." I actually do miss him, though of course he isn't going to believe me.

"You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

"I've managed to keep myself busy." I say. Finding and keeping my eye on Imogen, and biting that girl tonight has kept me pretty busy.

"You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you." he replies. It wasn't clumsy at all, it was purposely done to rile him.

"Ah. That can be a problem...for you."

"Why are you here now?"

"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word...Elena." I say with a smirk.

"She took my breath away. Elena. She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Is it working, Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?" I smirk at him again.

"She's not Katherine."

"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended. Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?" I ask quizzically. Any excuse to rile my baby brother over his animal diet.

"I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not gonna work."

"Yeah? Come on. Don't you crave a little?" I ask, genuinely wanting to know how as there is no way I could tolerate animal blood on a long term basis. I tried it once, it was disgusting. I started hitting him to get a rise out of him.

"Stop it." he growls.

"Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple girls out there. Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Elena."

"Stop it!" he exclaims, pushing me across the room.

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" I growl. Stefan's face transforms to his Vampire visage. I finally got him wound up enough to fight. "I can."

"I said stop!" he shouts and runs at me, throwing me out of the window. I catch myself, swipe his daylight ring and stand off to the side whilst he picks himself up off the ground where he landed face down amidst broken glass.

"I was impressed. I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face...thing. It was good." I tease.

"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die." Stefan always has to think the worst of me. At least I'm not a ripper, and I've never taken out an entire village. On Christmas Day of all days. He thinks he's so righteous when really he can be worse than me.

"That's a given." I reply. Can't let him know I've been changing since I met Imogen.

"Not here. I won't allow it."

I have no intention of killing, but I'm not having Stefan thinking he can tell me what to do.

"I take that as an invitation."

"Damon, please. After all these years, can't we just give it a rest?"

"I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word." I did promise him that, shortly after my transition was complete.

"Just stay away from Elena."

"Where's your ring? Oh, yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and, poof, ashes to ashes. Relax. It's right here." I say handing it back to him. Once he has it back on his finger I grabbed him and threw him up against the garage, where he then fell to the ground. I went to stand over him.

"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." I say. "I think we woke Zach up." I started walking back into the house "Sorry, Zach." I call out.

I head to my room and take a shower before getting into bed. I check in with my crow and find out that both Imogen and Scarlett are sleeping, and that Stefan went over there after our little 'fight' and is now talking to Elena. No doubt he went to keep guard and make sure I stay away. I don't intend to actually harm Elena, but it's so much fun making Stefan think I will. There's also the fact that I haven't been invited in. I fall asleep with a smirk on my face.


	4. Not Strong Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that has read so far. Please leave a comment on how you think I'm doing, this is my first story and I'm worried it's not very good. Please also let me know if you have any ideas as I'm undecided in whether Stefan will lock Damon up and if Zach will live or die. Thank you!

**September 9th, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Not Strong Enough; Apocalyptica featuring Brent Smith**

_I'm not strong enough to stay away._

_Can't run from you._

_I just run back to you._

_Like a moth I'm drawn into your flame._

_Say my name,_

_But it's not the same._

_You look in my eyes._

_I'm stripped of my pride._

_And my soul surrenders,_

_And you bring my heart to its knees._

_And it's killin' me when you're away._

_I wanna leave and I wanna stay._

_And I'm so confused,_

_So hard to choose_

_Between the pleasure and the pain._

**Imogen's POV**

I open my eyes and hear Scarlett crying to get my attention. I drag myself out of bed, change her diaper and settle in the rocking chair to feed her. I look out of the window and see the crow sitting in the tree and smile. It makes me feel strangely safe, as if it's watching over us. I hear a knock at my door and Elena walks in. She tells me more about yesterday and how Stefan put Mr Tanner the history teacher in his place over the number of casualties in the Battle of Willow Creek, how Matt was upset with her talking to Stefan, how Caroline was upset that Stefan wasn't interested in her and how she and Stefan spent the whole night talking. I remember that Vicki was attacked and although I don't particularly like Vicki as I feel she is leading Jeremy astray, I know he's going to still be upset this morning. After Elena leaves and Scarlett is fed I head over to Jeremy's room, knock and go in when I hear a muffled grunt.

"Hey Jer, how are you this morning?" I ask as I go over to the bed and sit next to him as Scarlett coos.

"It was awful finding her like that" he replies. I wrap my free arm around him and give him a hug.

"If you need anything Jer, you know where I am"

"Thanks Imogen. I think I'm going to get dressed and head to the hospital to see how she's doing"

I smile and say goodbye before heading back to my room.

I get Scarlett and myself dressed and I'm just finishing up when I hear Jenna and Elena talking at the top of the stairs. Jenna is asking if she should have her hair up or down for Jeremy's parent-teacher conference. I smile a little when I realise he said the reason he was leaving early was for woodshop. I grab our bags and head downstairs for breakfast before getting Scarlett settled in her car seat and heading to College.

* * *

I've just dropped Scarlett at daycare and am heading to the library to do some work as my first class isn't for an hour when my phone beeps, alerting me that I have a message.

_**Good morning to you and Scarlett ~ Damon** _

_**Good morning! xo~ Imogen** _

_**What are you doing today? ~ Damon** _

_**I'm at college. Just dropped Scarlett at daycare and heading to the library to do some work before my first class xo ~ Imogen** _

We exchange a few more messages during the day, and every time I get a new message from him it makes me smile.

* * *

I'm at The Grill with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline after College.

"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity." Bonnie tells us.

"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens" Caroline says to Bonnie. She turns to Elena "So then what?"

"So then nothing." she replies.

"You and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?" Caroline asks.

"Nope. We didn't go there."

"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut."

"We just talked for hours."

"OK, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already! Ok, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex!" I grimace at what Caroline said. It's exactly what got me pregnant and I don't want that for my sister.

"Profound." Elena replies and gets up from her seat.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asks her.

"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do. Imogen, can you give me a ride?"

"Err, sure" I reply and get Scarlett in her car seat and grab our bags. We head out to the car and once the car seat is strapped in I start driving.

"Where to?" I ask.

"The Salvatore boarding house" I hum in response and wonder if I will see Damon there.

We drive in comfortable silence until we pull up to the big old house.

"Wow" I say.

"I know" she replies.

We get out of the car and I get Scarlett, still in her car seat, from the back seat. We head over to the door and Elena knocks. The door opens she goes in, so I follow close behind.

"Stefan? Stefan?" she calls.

A crow flies in from behind us and we both jump and turn around to find Damon standing in front of us.

"I...I'm sorry for barging in. The door was...open." she says as we realise the door is now closed.

"Imogen, how lovely to see you and the beautiful Scarlett again!" Damon says, taking my hand and kissing it. I blush and he turns to my sister. "You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

"He didn't tell me he had a brother."

"Actually he said he didn't have any siblings that he talks to" I state. Damon gives me one of his panty dropping smirks in response.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." he says.

"Wow. This is your living room?" Elena asks. I set Scarlett's seat down on the floor and gaze around the room.

"Living room, Parlour, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste. I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."

"The last one?"

"Yeah. Katherine, his girlfriend? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."

I roll my eyes. Clearly Damon and Stefan have issues if Stefan says he doesn't talk to him and Damon is trying to cause trouble before Elena has even really started dating him.

"Nope." she snarks.

"Oops. Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end."

"I'm a fatalist. Hello, Stefan." Damon says. I wonder how he knew Stefan was there without turning round.

"Elena, Imogen. I didn't know you were coming over." Stefan says.

"I know. I should have called, I just..." my sister stammers.

"Oh, don't be silly. You are both welcome any time. Aren't they, Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But...I have to warn you. Stefan wasn't always such a looker." I snicker as Damon speaks and he flashes me a grin.

"Thank you for stopping by, Elena, Imogen. Nice to see you." Stefan says whilst giving Damon a dirty look. I feel as though the temperature in the room has plummeted.

"Yeah, we should probably go. It was nice to meet you, Damon."

"Yes, I need to get Scarlett home and fed before she gets grumpy" I say. Damon picks up her car seat, gives the baby a smile and passes her to me before turning to Elena.

"Great meeting you, too, Elena." he says, then turns back to me. "Lovely to see you and Scarlett again" and kisses my hand again. I shiver as he does and I know he noticed from the smirk he gives me.

"Stefan...Stefan?" Elena calls as he is blocking our way out whilst glaring at Damon. I wonder what his problem is. Stefan finally moves and we head out to my car.

Once we are all in and headed home Elena asks the question I knew was going to come.

"So how do you know Damon?"

"I met him at the coffee shop yesterday. He came over, we got talking. I kind of like him" I say, blushing. I swear I've done more blushing in the last 2 days than ever before.

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"Firstly, I'm the older sister here, I don't have to tell you anything, and secondly, we've had other things to talk about with Vicki getting attacked and how things have been going with Stefan" I do love my sister, but she quite often thinks that everything is all about her.

She huffed and we drove the rest of the way home in silence.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I am surprised when Imogen and Elena stop by. I drop Katherine into the conversation, I did promise Stefan an eternity of misery after all, even if I would like to rebuild some bridges. He won't believe anything but the worst of me right now.

As the door closes behind them I whistle.

"Great gals. Whoo. They've both got spunk. And Scarlett is such a beautiful baby. You, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you over-exert yourself today? Let me guess...hospital?" I say with a smirk.

"Someone had to clean up your mess. How do you know Imogen?" he glares at me.

"Well, were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right. As for Imogen, we met in the coffee shop yesterday and got talking."

"How long were they here?"

"Were you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past with Elena? Isn't that why you play your little game, "I'm a high school human"? I'm not interested in Elena."

"I'm not playing any game, Damon."

"Of course you are. Why else would you torture yourself by going back to school?"

"What kind of game are you playing, Damon?"

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" I reply and head up to my room.

I grab my copy of 'Call of the Wild' but I can't concentrate so I grab a bottle of bourbon and take a long swig. I knew there was something about Imogen, I've not been able to get her out of my head for the best part of a year now, but seeing her and Scarlett unexpectedly today has my heightened emotions in turmoil. I sigh and head for the shower in an attempt not to lash out and do something stupid.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

We get home and Scarlett is hungry so I head upstairs to feed her. I hear Elena telling Aunt Jenna about Stefan's ex girlfriend and family issues, and I hear Jeremy come home, stoned again. Once Scarlett is finished I settle her in her crib and head for the shower before getting into bed.

* * *

**September 10th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia.**

Today is pretty much like any other day. I go to college, drop Scarlett at daycare, go to my classes, then pick her up and head home. I'm just arriving home when my phone beeps with a message. I check it before getting out of the car.

_**Would you and Scarlett like to watch the comet with me this evening? ~ Damon** _

I squeal a little when I read it. I honestly thought no guy would ever be interested in me again.

_**We would love to xo ~ Imogen** _

_**Great, meet me at the Grill at 6pm ~ Damon** _

I check the time and see that it's 5pm. I quickly get Scarlett out of the car and head inside. I get her fed and into a clean diaper and onesie, then head to my closet to get myself changed. Once we're ready I head back out the car and to the Grill.

* * *

I'm nervous when I walk in but spot Damon at the bar with his back to me. As I start to head over he turns around, sees us and gives me a wide smile. I smile in response as he hops off the stool and heads towards us.

"Hey" I breathe nervously.

"Hey yourself. Shall we grab a table?" he asks. I nod in response and he grabs Scarlett's car seat from me before leading me to a table. We get seated quickly and I get Scarlett out of her car seat. He looks at her and an odd look flashes across his face.

"What would you like to drink? Are you hungry?" He asks me.

"Just a coke please. And actually, food would be good"

We order a burger and fries each along with our drinks, and we chat whilst waiting for our food.

When our food arrives I take the pickles out of my burger.

"What? You don't like pickles?" he asks, taking the pickles off my plate and eating them.

"No, although when I was pregnant I craved them" I reply. He chuckles in response.

"How old is she?" He asks me, inclining his head towards Scarlett.

"Just over 3 months" I reply. "She was born a month early, but aside from being a little small she is perfectly healthy"

A very strange look appears on his face but is gone in seconds.

"What about her father?" He asks.

"Erm..." I start, and look down at my plate. I take a deep breath "He's not around. I was in Columbus last September and had hot sex with a stranger. I don't know who he is, can't even remember a name."

I look up and he's again got an odd look on his face. He looks over my shoulder quickly and says he will be right back and heads to the bathroom. I slump in my seat wondering what he thinks of me now.

A few minutes later he comes back and smiles at me, and I feel a little better. We start talking again and the conversation quickly turns to families. He tells me that both of his parents died years ago, and that he and Stefan are staying with their Uncle at the boarding house.

"My parents died in May" I tell him. "They went to pick Elena up from a party and the car went off of the Wickery Bridge. They never made it, Elena was lucky. No one can explain how she got out of the car and onto the bank. The shock of my parents dieing sent me into labour and they couldn't stop it. That's why she was early. Now it's just Elena, Jeremy and I with Aunt Jenna as our guardian."

He reaches over and takes my hand, twining our fingers together and gives me a small smile. We sit like that for a few minutes, and I enjoy the feeling that flows through me from his touch.

"Let's head outside and watch the comet" he says. I nod and he pays the bill whilst I get Scarlett in her seat. He carries her and we head out to the square. We find a quiet spot and sit down, and he takes my hand again, and lean into him a little as we watch the comet in comfortable silence. I see Elena and Stefan talking and then Elena walking off after blowing out her candle. I wonder briefly what drama she's caused this time.

"Looks like our siblings are arguing" I sigh as I shiver.

"Mmhmm" he hums. "You're cold"

"I am a little. I should probably get home and get her to bed" I say, nodding at my baby girl.

He stands up then holds out his hand to help me up. "I'll walk you to your car" he says, grabbing Scarlett.

We walk over to my car and he waits whilst I get Scarlett secured in the back. I close the door and turn to him.

"I had a lovely evening" I say.

"Me too" he says, stepping closer. His gaze drops from my eyes to lips and back. I gulp in response, and I can feel my heart beating out of chest.

Slowly he places his lips on mine and my eyes flutter closed. We slowly start to move our lips against each others and I feel like there are fireworks exploding through my body. My hands reach up over shoulders and I feel his hands on my waist.

"I hope to see you again soon" he breathes, pulling back after a few minutes.

"Definitely" I respond before getting in my car and heading home. I spend the rest of the evening thinking about that amazing kiss.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I watch as Imogen drives off before heading back to my Camaro. I drive back to the boarding house with a smile on my face. We had a lovely evening, and the kiss was amazing. I can still feel the fireworks exploding through my body at the memory of her lips on mine.

I had decided last night that I'm not going to attack anyone else to feed on. I want to stay in Mystic Falls and I definitely don't want the Founders Council looking for Vampires. I spotted Vicki at the Grill tonight, and when I saw her heading to the bathroom I followed. I know Stefan's compulsion isn't as strong as mine due to his diet so I made sure that she won't say anything that could lead her attack back to me.

I also think about what Imogen said about Scarlett, and who her father is. It points to me, and with the baby's black hair and blue eyes, it may even be possible. I always wanted to be a father when I was human, but I resigned myself long ago that it would never happen. I give myself a mental shake. Vampires can't procreate.

Or can they?


	5. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you wondered how Imogen takes the news that Damon is a Vampire? Read on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an epic chapter, it got away with me whilst I was writing. Please review.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing TVD related. If I did Damon would never leave my bed.

**September 11th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Monsters; Shinedown**

_Cause my monsters are real, and they're trained how to kill_

_And there's no coming back and they just laugh at how I feel_

_And these monsters can fly, and they'll never say die_

_And there's no going back, if I get trapped I'll never heal_

_'Cause my monsters are real_

**Imogen's POV**

It's Friday, which means my classes finish at 11am and I have the afternoon off. It's been a long week and I'm looking forward to spending time with Scarlett this afternoon. I drop Scarlett off at daycare and I'm headed to class when I get a message.

_**Morning Sunshine, what are your plans for today? ~ Damon** _

_**I have class until 11am then I have no plans xo ~ Imogen** _

_**Would you like to come to my place for lunch? Stefan will be at school and Zach is out of town ~ Damon** _

_**Would love to, we'll be there around 11.30am xo ~ Imogen** _

I smile to myself, I'm so pleased he wants to see me again. I head to class, eager for it to be over so I can see him again.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

After last night I decide I can't hide who I am from Imogen. I need to tell her that I'm a Vampire before things go any further. I really care about her and Scarlett and I don't want to keep anything from her. I send her a message asking what she is up to as I know Stefan is at school and Zach is out of town for the weekend. Stefan also plans to stay after school whilst Elena is at Cheer practice so I know we will have the house to ourselves until at least 5pm. I'm happy but nervous when she says she will be here around 11.30am. I make some homemade pasta and a tomato sauce so that when we are ready to eat I can quickly cook the pasta and heat the sauce.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

I arrive at the boarding house at 11.30am, and Damon must have heard my car as he comes out to get Scarlett for me whilst I grab the diaper bag and my purse. We head inside to the Living room. I take Scarlett out of her car seat and settle her in a nest of cushions with a couple of toys from her bag. Damon seems nervous about something. He always comes across so self assured, cocky in a way, so this is strange to me.

"Are you okay? You seem nervous" I ask.

"Erm...yes...no...kinda" he stammers and takes a deep breath. "I have something to tell you, and I have no idea how you're going to take it but I need you to promise me that no matter what you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

"I promise" I say. Now I'm nervous. What could he possibly have to tell me?

He stands and heads over to the bar, pours himself a generous measure of bourbon and downs it in one.

He looks at me with an intense gaze.

"I'm a Vampire" he states.

"Err... don't be silly Damon. Vampires are a myth." I reply.

He sighs and pours another glass of bourbon before coming to sit next to me.

"I'm telling you the truth Imz"

"How is it even possible? You look normal" I reply, my brown eyes wide.

"I can show you my vampire face if you want? The how is a bit of a story but I will tell it. I _really_ like you and I don't want to keep any secrets"

I am reeling inside. I never considered vampires may actually exist. I'm happy he said he likes me though and he's telling me this because he doesn't want any secrets between us.

"Show me" I say.

He stands up and turns so that Scarlett won't be able to see. As I look at him his face changes. The whites of his eyes go red, there are pulsing black veins below his eyes and he lifts his lip to show me the fangs that have dropped. I stand and reach a hand up to gently stroke the veins beneath his eyes.

"Are you not scared?" he asks, cocking his head to the side.

"I know you won't hurt me. Ever since I met you in the coffee shop I've felt safe around you. I can't explain it, I've never felt it with anyone else before"

He nods and lets his face go back to normal. Scarlett starts getting unsettled and I know she'll be getting hungry so I scoop her up and rearrange my top to feed her. Damon gawks at me.

"What? You never seen a baby eat before?" I ask with a chuckle.

He sits down next to me. "I'm just admiring the view" he flirts. I roll my eyes.

"So if you're a vampire I'm guessing you need blood to survive. How do you eat? Do you kill people?"

"I'm not going to lie, I have killed people in the past, but I haven't for nearly a year. I either drink blood bags or I will feed from a person and compel them to forget"

"Compel? What do you mean?"

"Vampires have certain... abilities. Mind compulsion is one of those. We can influence minds, make people forget things, not to feel pain, anything we want."

"Okay...what else can you do?"

"Everything is heightened. Speed, smell, hearing, sight, touch, strength, emotions. I heal rapidly, and if I give my blood to a human that is hurt it will heal them too. I can also control animals, and I can call fog on demand. I can also control dreams"

"Wow" I breathe. It's a lot to take in but I'm not scared. "What about the vampire myths. Can you eat garlic?"

He chuckles. "Yes, we can eat garlic."

"I've seen you in the sunlight. You don't sparkle" That earns me an eye roll.

"Real vampires burn in the sun, but my ring is made from Lapis Lazuli and was spelled by a witch so it protects me. Stefan has one too." he says waggling his ring at me.

"Wait, what? Witches are real too? And Stefan's a vampire as well?" I ask.

"Yup" he replies, popping the 'p'.

"Wow, okay. What about crucifixes?"

"Decorative"

"Holy water?"

"Drinkable"

"Mirrors?"

"Myth"

"Do I need to worry about Elena?"

"No, Stefan doesn't drink human blood, he feeds on animals." he says, making a disgusted face.

Scarlett finishes feeding so I adjust my top, change her diaper and cuddle her whilst she falls asleep before I settle her back in her pillow nest whilst we continue our conversation.

"So tell me how you became a vampire"

"I will, but I need to get a couple of things first" he tells me before disappearing upstairs with what I assume he meant by heightened speed. He was just a blur. He puts a small jewellery box and a picture on the table before coming back to sit next to me.

"It was 1864. I was in the Confederate army, fighting in the Civil War to defend the South. It wasn't something I believed in, but it was Father's orders. He was always disappointed in me so I did it to try and earn his approval. Not that it worked." He said sourly.

"1864?" I ask. "How old were you?"

"I was 25. I was born June 18th 1839"

"Wow" I breathe. "That makes you 170." He gives me a wry smile and nods.

"I was home on leave, and Father had allowed Katherine to stay with us as she said she had lost her family in a fire in Atlanta. She was very beautiful. What I didn't know at the time was that she was a Vampire, and she was playing both myself and Stefan. I ended up deserting the army and not going back to stay with Katherine, plus I really didn't believe in the side I was fighting for." Damon gets up and refills his bourbon. I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Would you like one?" he offers.

"I best not. Have you got any soda?" I ask with a meaningful glance at Scarlett.

"Sure" he says and disappears to the kitchen before returning with a soda for me. I open it and take a long drink.

"So what happened next?" I ask.

"Well short version, she compelled us both to keep the fact we were both seeing her from each other. She also fed from us and gave us her blood to heal us. She told me what she was and I was prepared to turn to be with her forever, so I willingly drank her blood. She wasn't the only vampire though, and they weren't as careful as they could have been. The original founder's council rounded all the vampires up one night, and burned them in Fell's Church. I had asked Stefan not to tell our Father about Katherine but he said enough to make him suspicious. Father gave Stefan vervain and when Katherine fed on him she was caught. We tried to rescue her and our own Father shot us both dead. Of course we both had her blood in our system so we woke up at Steven's Quarry in transition. Katherine's handmaid, Emily, was a witch. She explained we were in transition and had made us both daylight rings" he waggles his ring at me again and I smile at him.

"I woke before Stefan and had gone to the church where I saw it burning. When Stefan woke we made a pact not to complete the transition and to die together. I had only wanted to become a Vampire for her and I thought she was dead."

"Thought she was dead? Is she not?" I ask.

"Not exactly. I had asked Emily to save her if she could. She agreed as long as I promised to protect her family and ensure the Bennett witch line continued. Of course I agreed so I could save her. I didn't think she was successful as she never told me until after I completed the transition."

"I thought you didn't want to though. What happened?"

"Stefan happened" he replied bitterly. "He went to say bye to Father, but it didn't go well. He ended up killing him and completing his transition by feeding on his blood. From the moment he had human blood he was different. He turned his humanity off and he compelled a woman to come to the quarry with him. I was weak and he bit her throat open then held her to me and instinct took over. I fed and promptly promised Stefan an eternity of misery for getting Katherine caught and forcing me to turn."

My eyes are wet with tears as he tells me what happened. I reach over and take hold of his hand in mine.

"So Emily saved Katherine? And did you say Bennett? As in Bonnie?"

"Emily saved all the vampires that night, not just Katherine. They have been locked in a tomb under the church for the last 145 years, dessicating. And yes, Bonnie is a descendant of Emily's. The council caught Emily and burned her at the stake, but I saved her children and ensured they were taken care of. I've watched out for the Bennett's ever since. I saved Bonnie's mother from being run over by a car when she was a child."

I nodded and looked at him. "Anything else I should know?"

"I've not been a nice person Imz. Stefan calls me a monster and he's right. Of course he's no saint but that is definitely another story. I've killed people and I've enjoyed it. It's who I am. It's my nature as a vampire. We're a predatory species and we enjoy the hunt, the feed and the kill."

"I don't believe you're all bad Damon. I can see through those walls you've built. Have you been waiting this whole time for Katherine?"

"Pretty much. The tomb couldn't be opened until the comet came back around. I spent 144 years with one goal: to get her out of the tomb. Then something happened a year ago which changed everything" his face showed so many emotions. He was scared, but hopeful. I've never known such expressive eyes.

"What happened?"

"I met someone. I met you" he whispered.

"No, you didn't, I don't remember meeting you before the coffee shop"

He put his hands either side of my face and looked me in the eyes. "Remember" he said as his pupils dilated. I'm hit with a memory from Columbus last year.

"It was you" I whisper, looking at him wide eyed. He nods in response. I sit there in stunned silence for several minutes contemplating that night now I know the truth.

"Does that mean..." I start to say and look at Scarlett.

"I'm not sure how it's possible. Vampires can't procreate" he replies. "Was there anyone else?"

"No. It had been 3 months before that night, and no one since. And only you that night. And her hair and eyes..."

"I know" he says. "I don't know how it's possible, but I believe you when you say there was no one else. It's an instinct with you. I've honestly never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. We'll find out how it happened though, and I would like to be there for our Daughter" he gives me a nervous smile.

"Of course, as long as she will be safe"

"You're both safe. I would give my life before anything happens to either of you" he kissed my forehead tenderly.

"Do you still want to get Katherine out of the tomb?" I ask.

"Not really. Everything changed when I met you. My humanity was off, and had been for a long time, but when I met you it flipped back on and I haven't been able to turn it back off since. I've not killed anyone since that night either. I don't know why, I just can't. You got under my skin and no matter what I couldn't shake you. When I realised you were here I had my crow look out for you until I was ready to meet you"

"The crow, of course. I've been seeing one all summer. Is that how long you've been back here?"

"Err, yeh" he says sheepishly. "I've never been able to deal with feelings well, and I was still fighting them and myself. Plus I knew meeting you would mean Stefan would know I was in town, and I wasn't ready for that either."

I nod. "So when you came into the coffee shop you were finally ready?"

"Yes." He stood up and went to collect the picture and jewellery box he brought down earlier, refilling his bourbon on the way.

"First thing, I have no idea how this is possible, but this is Katherine" he says, and hands me a picture. I gasp in surprise

"She looks identical to Elena"

"I know, but Elena is very different. She's human, Katherine was a Vampire, and from what I've seen so far she has a very different personality"

"Is Stefan planning on telling her any of this?"

"I don't know. I doubt it, he wants to live a human life, and he believes that keeping this from her will allow that"

"Nuh-uh, Elena will not be happy about being lied to. Though she'll enjoy the drama" he snickers at me.

"Secondly, I want you to wear this locket" he says as he hands me the jewellery box. Inside is a silver filigree heart locket.

"It's beautiful, but I can't accept this. We've only really known each other a couple of days"

"Yes you can. I _need_ you to wear it. It contains an herb called vervain"

"What's that?"

"It is poisonous to vampires. It burns us if it touches our skin, it will knock us out if ingested, and the main reason I want you to wear it is because it stops you from being compelled. If you are wearing it or have ingested it then no vampire can get in your head"

"Okay. Thank you. Can you?" I ask gesturing to the locket. He nods and fastens the necklace around my neck. As he does my stomach growls.

"You're hungry, I'll go get lunch cooked."

As he heads into the kitchen Scarlett wakes from her nap, so I scoop her up and follow him. I think about all he has told me, and surprisingly I feel okay about it all. I still feel a pull towards him, and I still feel safe. I'm also a little excited that he could be Scarlett's dad.

I enter the kitchen and sit down with Scarlett in my lap whilst he cooks.

"Tell me about the humanity switch" I say.

"Well it's a switch in our heads, we can turn it off and it shuts off everything human about us, so we don't feel anything. The unfortunate part is that when we turn it back on we feel everything we didn't feel whilst it was off, so most Vampires don't tend to turn it back on."

"How long did you have it off for?" I ask.

"50 years" he mutters.

"And meeting me flipped it back on?"

"Yes. I have no idea why or how, but that night turned it firmly to the on position where it's been stuck ever since. It has taken me nearly a year to deal with the effects if that and to be ready to actually get to know you and our baby."

"Maybe we're just meant to be" I chuckle. He smiles in response and nods. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"The only other thing you need to know is that we need to be invited in. We can't enter a Humans residence without an invitation. We can only be killed by fire, a wooden stake in the heart or decapitation."

"Handy to know" I smirk. "I'll have to decide if you're worth inviting in" I chuckle.

"I hope you'll invite me in" he pouts as he sets down bowls of pasta for us both and takes the seat next to me. I chuckle at him before taking a forkful of pasta.

"Hmmm, this is good, thank you." I say. "How can you eat if you're... you know..." I ask as he takes a bite of his pasta.

"You mean dead?" he says with a chuckle. "As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system my body functions pretty normally."

We finish eating in comfortable silence and Damon puts the dirty dishes in the sink before we head back to the Parlour.

"Can I hold her?" he asks.

"Of course" I reply and pass her to him. I watch as he cuddles her and she smiles up at him. He's been through so much in his life, hated by his father, betrayed by his brother, and been alone for nearly a century and a half. I can see the man behind the walls that just wants to love and be loved back. The look on his face as he gazes down at Scarlett is one of pure love and adoration, and I hope that he might one day look at me that way.

"She likes you. She doesn't just smile at anyone" He gives me a big grin. My phone beeps with a message.

_**Bonnie, Caroline and Stefan are coming for dinner. Bonnie got a bad feeling about Stefan and I want her to get to know him better. Will you be there? ~ Elena** _

_**I will be there. What time? Can I bring a guest? ~ Imogen** _

_**Of course you can. 8pm. Who are you bringing? ~ Elena** _

_**That's for me know and you to dot dot dot... ~ Imogen.** _

_**Urgh. You're the worst. See you tonight ~ Elena** _

"Apparently Bonnie touched Stefan and got a bad feeling" I say.

"It's a witchy thing. They get feelings about people, especially other supernaturals" he replies.

"Well Elena has invited Stefan to dinner with Bonnie and Caroline so they can get to know him better. You up for it?"

"Of course. Any opportunity to annoy by baby brother" he smirks. I smile back.

"I know you promised him an eternity of misery, and I get why, but you can you keep it to a minimum tonight? Please?"

"I'll try" he chuckles in response. Something pops in my head.

"Was it you that attacked Vicki at the party the other night?

"Yes" he replies sheepishly.

"You might want to be a bit more discreet if you're going to feed on people in town. I know there's still a founder's council as my Dad was on it and from what you said they know about vampires"

"So you're not upset I attacked her?"

"Not really. I don't really like her. Perhaps you can go out of town if you need more than a blood bag. I'd rather you didn't get caught and I would really appreciate it if you don't eat anyone else that I know"

He leans over, Scarlett still in his arms and kisses my forehead. "You are an amazing woman Imz. Anyone else would have run for the hills after what I've told you today but you've taken it all in your stride and your only concern is that I'm more discreet." I blush in response.

"You said that there was more to Stefan earlier. What did you mean?"

He sighed and looked at the baby who had fallen asleep in his arms before looking at me.

"Stefan doesn't cope very well when drinks human blood. The bloodlust takes over and when he feeds he feeds so hard he literally rips the head off the person. He's what is known as a ripper. He was known as the Ripper of Monterey after he killed an entire village on Christmas." I shudder in response.

"He has the nerve to call you a monster?!" I exclaim. "What an ass. Is that why he feeds on animals?"

"Yep. It keeps him alive, but he isn't as strong as me. It also really doesn't taste good"

We chat some more before I decide to leave around 4.30pm so I can change before dinner. I tell Damon to arrive around 7.30pm so he's there before Stefan. I show him how to strap Scarlett into her car seat and he carries her out to the car, where I show him how to strap the seat into the car. Once I close the door I turn round and he doesn't hesitate to get closer. He puts his hand on my cheeks and lowers his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and respond to his kiss. Again I feel like fireworks are going off inside from his touch. We break apart a few minutes later and he rests his forehead against mine.

"I'll see you in a few hours" he says.

"See you soon" I reply, then I get in my car and head home.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

Stefan arrives home not long after Imogen left. I'm waiting in his room reading his journal.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"I've come to apologise. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and...I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. That I can learn to be a non-living, living person. Maybe there's hope for both of us." I try to keep my face straight but I can't manage it and let out a chuckle.

"You know, it doesn't have to be this way, Damon."

"Of course it doesn't. I saw Imogen today, BTW. That means "by the way." We had a very informative conversation. Are you ever going to tell Elena what we are? Ooh, that reminds me...I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms. Wish me luck."

I leave the room and head to my own where I take a shower and get ready before heading to the Gilbert house.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

When I get home I quickly head upstairs. Scarlett is still sleeping so I grab a quick shower and get ready. She wakes just as I'm finishing up so I feed her, then change her diaper and get her in her pyjamas. We head downstairs where I can hear Elena talking to Bonnie and Caroline. Bonnie is telling them how she seems to be psychic and how she keeps seeing the numbers 8, 14 and 22. I assume it's something to do with her being descended from a witch and wonder if she knows.

"Hey" I say, walking into the kitchen. They're putting takeout into serving bowls. I should have known Elena wouldn't cook.

"Hey" they all reply, just as the doorbell rings.

"I'll get that, it will be my guest" and I head to the door. I open it to reveal Damon holding a cake.

"Hi" I say, smiling at him.

"Hi yourself. I brought dessert." he smiles.

"Come on in" I reply and he comes into the house.

"You have a beautiful home Imz"

"Thank you" I reply, leading him into the kitchen. He sets the cake on the counter and I introduce him.

"Bonnie, Caroline, this is Damon. Damon, this is Bonnie and Caroline. You've already met my sister"

"Lovely to meet you all" he says as he comes over to me and lifts Scarlett from my arms. The girls all gawk at him as he does.

"What, never seen a man hold a baby?" I snark. They all quickly turn away and go back to getting dinner ready as I lead Damon into the living room. We sit down next to each other on the couch.

"Was that a hint of jealousy in there?" Damon asks me with a twinkle in his eye. I look down and blush. He leans over to me. "I only have eyes for you" he whispers in my ear, causing a shiver to run down my spine.

We chatted for a little while before the doorbell rang again, indicating the arrival of Stefan. Elena answered it and showed him to the table, where Damon and I had moved to. When Stefan saw Damon he glared at him.

"What are you doing here Damon?" he asked in a tense tone, looking at him holding Scarlett.

"Imogen invited me" he replied simply before passing Scarlett to me and taking his seat. I sat down at one end of the table, with Damon on my left. Caroline took the seat on my left and took Scarlett from me.

"I feel like I've not seen her in forever" she announces.

Stefan takes the seat next to Caroline, Bonnie is opposite Stefan, next to Damon, and Elena and is at the opposite end of the table. We start helping ourselves to the food and I take Scarlett from Caroline and put her in her bouncer chair between Damon and I. She gurgles to herself and bats at the toys on the toy bar happily.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right." he replied.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it." Caroline said.

"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

"I agree. Don't let life pass you by" I said.

"You all should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and..." Elena started.

"Yeh, I heard." Bonnie said swiftly.

Elena decides it's time for a change of topic. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family Bonnie?"

"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad."

"My parents are divorced too. I live with my mom and my dad lives with his... boyfriend" Caroline says.

"No, about the witches. Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool." Elena says.

"Cool isn't the word I'd use." Bonnie huffs.

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s." Stefan replies.

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie says. the rest of us eat quietly, watching the exchange between the two.

"Really? Salem witches?"

"Yeah."

"I would say that's pretty cool." Stefan says with a smile.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie questions.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."

"Yeh, they are." She replies with a smile.

We all finish eating and move into the living room. Damon carries Scarlett in and holds her on his lap. I sit next to him on the arm of the chair. He rests one hand on my lower back. Stefan is scowling at us and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes at him.

"Elena wasn't as lucky today as Stefan today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines." Caroline says.

"I'll work with her. She'll get it." Bonnie says.

"I'm sure she will with extra practice" I say, smiling at Bonnie.

"I guess we can put her in the back." Caroline says. I roll my eyes.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon says. Elena looks down at her shoes.

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun. And I say that with complete sensitivity." Caroline says.

"Really Caroline?" I retort. "Our parents both died, and there's been a new baby in the house too. Some things are more important than cheerleading."

Caroline scowls at me, but decides to keep quiet. I can see the corners of Bonnie's mouth turning up as she tries to hide a smile.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." Damon says. It's very true.

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan replies. Of course he doesn't want their history bringing up as he hasn't been honest with Elena yet.

"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up. Mmm." Damon replies before turning to me with a smirk.

"I'm going to start clearing up" I say and head towards the kitchen.

"I'll help you" Elena says, and follows me.

Once we're in the kitchen she brings the dirty dishes over and I start loading the dishwasher.

"So, you and Damon huh?" she asks with a smile.

"We're getting to know each other" I reply.

"Mmhmm" she hums.

"One more" I hear from behind. I turn round and see Damon with a glass in his hand.

"Oh, thank you. Who has Scarlett?"

"Bonnie has her" he relies, handing me the glass. I drop it and he catches it. Vampire reflexes.

"Nice save Damon" Elena chuckles. I smile at him.

" I like you. You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time." Damon says to Elena. I continue putting the dishes in the dishwasher whilst Damon helps me.

"Earlier, did you mean... Katherine?" Elena asks. Damon hums in response.

"How did she die?" she asks.

"In a fire. Tragic fire."

"Recently?"

"It seems like it was yesterday." I know Damon can't tell her the truth and what he's says is as close as he can get. I smirk at him whilst my back is to Elena.

"What was she like?"

"She was beautiful, a lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated and selfish and at times not very kind."

"So which one of you dated her first?" I roll my eyes at the question. Damon sees and gives me a quick smirk before answering.

"Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine. I'd quit cheerleading if I were you."

"Why do you say that?"

"I saw your face when Caroline mentioned practice. You looked miserable."

"You saw that?"

"We all saw that Elena." I chuckle.

"Am I wrong?" Damon asks.

"I used to love it. It was fun. Things are different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore."

"So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved. Ta-da." I love how he doesn't hold back and just gets things said.

"Some things could matter again."

"Maybe. But...it seems a little unrealistic to me."

"Seems unrealistic to me too. Things have changed in the last few months." I add.

Elena folds table mats for a few moments before speaking again.

"I'm sorry. About Katherine. You lost her too." Damon gives her a small smile in response then gives me an amused look.

"Hey. Someone wants her mom." Bonnie says coming in and handing Scarlett over to me. I head upstairs to feed her and put her to bed. When I head back down Caroline is telling Stefan that Matt's having a hard time with Elena moving on as they have known each other since the sandbox. As I enter the living room Caroline heads to the kitchen leaving me alone with Stefan.

"What's going on with you and Damon?" he demands.

"We're getting to know each other."

"You shouldn't go near him. He's dangerous." he growls at me.

"He's dangerous? Says the one who rips people's heads off if he feeds on human blood." I growl back. He looks at me in shock. He obviously didn't realise how much Damon has told me.

"Look, I don't know what it is about him, but we have a connection. I feel safe with him. Yes, he's told me about his past, and I accept that is who he is. If you can't accept your own brother then you're the one with a problem. How do I know you're not the dangerous one. How do I know you're not going to hurt my sister?"

"I would never hurt Elena."

"As Damon wouldn't hurt me or Scarlett. So I suggest you keep your nose out of things that are not your concern unless you want me to tell Elena everything you're keeping from her." He stares at me wide eyed. Damon comes in and sees the looks on our faces.

"What are you two talking about?" he asks with a smile.

"I'm sure you heard" I reply with a smile. He gives me a quick kiss on the side of my mouth and glares at Stefan.

"I know you won't believe me, but I'm not the monster you think I am Stef. Not anymore."

Elena, Bonnie and Caroline come in then. We make small talk for a while. Damon holds my hand, rubbing the back with his thumb.

When Bonnie and Caroline have left Stefan heads upstairs with Elena.

"Would you like to come to my room?" I ask Damon.

"I thought you'd never ask." he says, doing his eye thing. I head up the stairs and he follows. When we reach my room he closes the door behind him and goes over to Scarlett's crib.

"She looks so angelic when she sleeps." he says.

"She does. She's not as angelic when she wakes me up in the night for a feed though." I say.

Damon smiles at me and comes over. He wraps his arms around me and touches his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and move my mouth in response. I feel his tongue running along my lower lip, asking for entrance. I part my lips and soon our tongues are battling for dominance. Somehow we manage to back up to the bed and I fall back onto it with Damon following me, pinning me down. After several minutes of making out he pulls away with a groan. I can feel how aroused he is as his erection is pressed to my thigh.

"As much as I would love this to go further, I think we need to find out how Scarlett happened first." he says resting his forehead against mine.

"That would probably be sensible." I reply breathlessly, but with a pout.

He kisses my pout away and rolls off. He stands up to leave.

"Stay the night" I say, not wanting to be away from him.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes. You'll hear if Jenna is going to come in won't you?" He nods yes. I grab a set of pyjamas and head into my bathroom to get changed. When I return he has taken his top and shoes off is laid on the bed. I climb in beside him and lay my head on his chest. He wraps his arm around my back and we drift off to sleep.


	6. Did I Save You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning, violence and mentions of sexual assault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything TVD related. Damon owns me and he's getting antsy at the lack of smut. I hope to remedy that by straying from the show timeline. Please leave a comment, they make me feel loved!

**September 12th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song:** **Song #3; Stone Sour**

_If you cried out for more_

_If you reached out for me_

_I would run into the storm_

_Just to keep you here with me_

_I have gone beyond my years_

_I've wasted half my life_

_But I found it all in you_

_Did I save you?_

_'Cause I know you saved me too_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up early and realise there is an arm wrapped tightly round my waist, and a body snuggled up to my back. Who knew Damon Salvatore was a cuddler; he claims to be a big bad vampire. I sigh contentedly and close my eyes again.

A little while later I hear Scarlett start to wake in her crib. Damon must have heard her too as he lifts his head up and looks over at the crib before pulling me closer to him. "Good morning beautiful" he whispers in my ear.

I roll over to face him. "I could get used to waking up like this" I whisper back to him. He gives me a kiss on the lips. Scarlett starts to make more noises and I know she will be awake any moment so I quickly hop out if bed and head to the bathroom. When I come back Damon has hold of her and is wrinkling his nose.

"I think she needs changing" he says.

I give a small laugh. "She always does first thing in the morning"

I take her from him and quickly change her diaper before settling in the rocking chair to feed her. Damon puts his shirt on and I pout.

"I need to go before everyone wakes up if you don't want to be caught" he says. I nod in response.

"Are you going to the game later?" he asks.

"Probably. Unless you have a better idea?"

"I was going to go to annoy...sorry support Stefan. It's his first game on the team" he says.

"After last night, I'm going to say he deserves you annoying him."

"I think you put him in his place pretty well." he says with a wink. "Shall I pick you up around 3pm and we can go to the Grill for food before the game?"

"Can we get her car seat in your car?" I ask.

"Errr... probably not. I'll come here and we'll take your car"

"Okay" I say with a smile. "See you at 3pm"

He leans over and gives me a lingering kiss before jumping out of my window. I finish feeding Scarlett then head downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning" Elena greets me, handing me a coffee. "Did Damon stay the night? I didn't hear him leave"

"Yes, but nothing happened."

"Mmhmm" she hums. "Nice necklace, is it new?"

I clasp the heart in my hand. "Yes, Damon gave it to me"

"He did? It's beautiful. You seem a lot happier the last few days"

"He makes me happy" I reply. She gives me a big smile. "I'm not the only one who seems happier"

"Stefan makes me happy" she replies. I give her a smile. As much as Stefan has annoyed me she does seem happier than she has been in a long time.

"I think the Salvatore brothers are good for us"

"I agree. I also think Damon was right about cheerleading. I don't enjoy it anymore. I think I'm going to quit"

"One thing I've realised recently is that we should do what makes us happy. Life is too short to spend it miserable"

"I agree" she replies then heads upstairs. I follow shortly after and get my college work done before getting Scarlett and I ready for Damon to pick us up at 3pm.

* * *

At 3pm there is a knock on the door. I open it and give Damon a big smile. He steps in and gives me quick kiss before picking up Scarlett in her seat and holding out his hand.

"I'll drive" he says. I roll my eyes. "I was raised in the 1800's and I've not forgotten how to be a gentleman"

"Fine" I say with a chuckle and hand him my car keys. He picks up the diaper bag whilst I grab my purse and we head out to my car. He gets Scarlett secured in the back and insists on holding the door whilst I get in the passenger seat.

We pull into a parking space outside the grill and before I can even get my seatbelt off Damon is opening my door for me. Once I'm out of the car he gets Scarlett from the back and we head in and grab a table.

* * *

After we've eaten we head to the school for the game. We get there in time for Tanner's pep rally speech. As we're walking away I notice Jeremy getting into a fight with Tyler. Stefan gets there and breaks up it before Damon or I get chance to, but I do see Stefan get his hand slashed by the broken bottle Jeremy tries to attack Tyler with. Elena also notices and I go after Jeremy leaving Stefan to explain why his hand is already healed.

"Jer, wait!" I call.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone" he shouts and disappears. I sigh and go back over to Damon. He wraps his around around me and kisses the side of my head before leading me away. We grab seats and Elena soon joins us.

"I'm just going to grab a jacket from the car, I'm a bit cold" I say and head off to my car.

I'm just closing the door when Tanner comes up behind me.

"Ms Gilbert, nice to see you" he says.

"Can't say the same for you Mr Tanner" I retort. I've never liked him. When I was still at the High School he was always looking at me in a sleazy way and I always felt uncomfortable around him.

"Oh come on Ms Gilbert. You're not a student of mine anymore, that means you're no longer off limits" he says, coming closer. He leans his head in and I can feel his breath on my face.

"Not a chance, you make me feel sick" I say and try to push him away. He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head and presses himself closer.

"I know you want to" he says. "You're the slut that got herself pregnant at 18"

I struggle, trying to free myself from him, but his grip is too strong. He starts to inch his hand up my top onto my belly and I struggle harder.

The next thing I know is Tanner is flying across the parking lot and Damon is following him with a murderous look on his face.

"Don't you EVER touch my girl, or any girl for that matter, against her wishes" he growls. I see his face change and he attacks Tanner, killing him. I'm still stood by my car shaking.

"What the hell Damon?!" I hear Stefan shout as he comes running across the parking lot. "You're trying to claim you've changed and you've just killed the football coach for no reason!"

"Fuck sake Stefan! Why are you assuming there was no reason?" I yell.

"He doesn't need a reason to kill, don't you see that? He's a monster!" He yells back at me.

"That's what you want to believe isn't it? You want everyone to think he's a monster so that you look like the good brother! He attacked Tanner because he was groping me, and he made it _very_ clear that he intended to take things further. _That_ is why Damon attacked him. To protect me! So fuck off with your assumptions!" I yell then run into Damon's arms and start sobbing. He wraps his arms around me and rubs my back until my sobs subside.

"Thank you" I say quietly.

"I'm sorry I scared you. That's the first person I've killed since I met you in Columbus, and the only reason I did was because he threatened to hurt you"

"You didn't scare me. I know I probably should have been scared by you, but I truly wasn't"

I look up and see Stefan has gone.

"Where did Stefan go?"I ask.

"To get ready for the game I expect. Thank you for sticking up for me, that's two days in a row you've had to do that" he says. I give him a small smile and he kisses my forehead.

"We should get out of here" he says. I nod in response. He goes to get Scarlett as he had left her with Elena when he heard Tanner attacking me and he drives me to the boarding house.

* * *

We head to the parlour once we arrive and he sets Scarlett's car seat on the floor and gets her out. I sit on the couch and stare at the fire.

"Would you like to stay here tonight?" he asks.

I nod "I don't trust Stefan not to stake you"

"I'm hoping he will understand" he says with a sigh, sitting next to me. "I think she's hungry"

"I think you're right" I say and take her from him. I feed her and he goes to pour himself a drink.

"Would you like one?" he asks.

"Just a little one. I need it after tonight. I thought he was going to...you know... and I couldn't get away, I wasn't strong enough" I look at my wrists which are starting to show bruises.

Damon brings a glass over and put it on the coffee table. He takes hold of my free wrist and looks it over. "It's a good job he's already dead." he says with that murderous look on his face.

"I'm just pleased you got there when you did" I pick up the glass and down the contents.

"It was weird. I just had this feeling you were in trouble and when I listened I heard you"

Scarlett finishes feeding so I change her diaper.

"I have no clothes or pyjamas for either of us" I sigh. "And I could probably do with more diapers if we're staying overnight"

"Stefan and Elena just pulled up. I can go and get what you need whilst they stay with you" I nod in response.

Elena and Stefan walk in and Elena comes over and gives me a hug. "Stefan told me Tanner was trying to assault you and Damon stopped him. He was attacked by an animal so he won't be doing anything like that again" she says. I nod in response.

"I'm just popping out, I won't be long" Damon says and heads out the door.

"Where's he going?" Elena asks.

"Scarlett and I are staying here tonight so he's gone to get some things we'll need" I say.

Scarlett is asleep in my arms and as soon as Damon comes back Stefan and Elena disappear. Damon leads me up to his room and hands me a bag with clothes and pyjamas for both of us. I change Scarlett and settle her in the middle of the bed whilst he goes back down to the car. When he returns he has a new pack and play which he must have got from the store.

"I'll get her a crib, but I got this for now so she has somewhere safe to sleep"

"Thank you Damon" I say, and go over to give him a hug. He wraps his arms around me

"How are you doing?" he asks.

"Still a bit shaken up" I reply.

"Why don't you go take a shower and I'll sort this out" he says. I nod and grab my pyjamas before heading to shower.

Once I'm showered and dressed in my pyjamas I go back into the room. The pack and play is set up and Damon has already got Scarlett settled in it. He's lying in bed with the TV on quietly. I get into bed and snuggle into him. He wraps his arms around me and I look up at him.

Thank you for everything tonight" I say.

"You're welcome" he says as he kisses my forehead and then rests his chin on my head. I fall asleep feeling safe in his arms.

**Damon's POV**

Imogen has fallen asleep in my arms and I look down at her, then across to the pack and play where Scarlett is sleeping soundly. I think about how much has changed in the last few days since I met her in the coffee shop. I still can't understand what it is about her that makes her so special to me, but I know she is and I know I don't want to ever let her or Scarlett go. I will protect them both with my life, and that is why I killed Tanner. I should probably have done something with his body though, the founder's council is going to realise what really attacked him and will be on the alert for vampires. I just needed to get my girls out of there and make sure they were safe. I breathe in the vanilla scent of Imogen and drift off to sleep.

I'm woken a few hours later by noises coming from Scarlett. I gently untangle myself from Imogen and get the baby. I realise she needs a clean diaper so I change her. If anyone ever sees this my reputation is shot but right now I couldn't care less.

I try and rock the baby back to sleep but it quickly becomes apparent that she's hungry and she cries which wakes Imogen. I pass her over to be fed and cuddle them both. When she's finished I settle her back in her temporary bed and then head back to bed myself, wrapping Imogen back up in my arms. I could get used to this.


	7. Better Than Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't anything TVD related.
> 
> Damon got his smut. Hope I did it justice!

**September 23rd 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Better Than Life; Papa Roach**

_Fuck me like you mean it_

_Make me worship you, I'm a believer_

_Come erase the static in my head, pull me close to your chest_

_Like a secret you kept in the dark_

_Break me into pieces_

_Take away the breath I'm barely breathing_

_I can feel you running through my blood, the adrenaline rush_

_Hits my heart like a drug, lift me up_

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I wake up before Stefan and I can't resist going to his room and getting in his head to give him a bad dream. He really needs to learn how to deal with human blood. The bad dream wakes him.

"Bad dream? Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field. Football reference. Too soon." I say. Stefan grabs a letter opener and throws it at me. It lands in my stomach. I pull it out with a frown.

"All right, I deserved that for the dream. But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner. Although he did deserve that."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asks

"It was a mountain lion. Really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news. 'Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls.' "

"It's about time you covered your tracks. Tanner did deserve it though."

"We finally agree on something. It's a miracle!"

"I actually think Imogen might be good for you"

"Mmhmm" I hum, and stab him in the stomach with the letter opener he threw at me. "This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move." I say as I leave his room, inspecting the hole in my T-shirt.

I head downstairs only to run in to Zach.

"I didn't know you were here" he says.

"I do live here" I reply.

"Why are you here Damon?"

"To spend time with you and Stefan. And I met a girl. She's changed me" I sigh.

"Somehow I don't believe that" Zach mutters. I hear him anyway.

"Look Zach, the old me would have ripped your head off by now, but I'm going to give you some advice. Leave Mystic Falls for good if you want to carry on living"

Zach gulps and heads to his room, hopefully to pack.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

Tomorrow is the Founder's Ball, and I've already asked Damon to be my date. We've been spending a lot of time together over the last couple of weeks. We either stay at his house (which I love as his bed is massive and so comfortable) or he sneaks in my room. True to his word a couple of days after I first stayed at the boarding house a beautiful cherry wood crib appeared in his room, matching the rest of his furniture exactly. One of the drawers in his dresser was also filled with baby clothes and downstairs is a bouncer chair and playmat for her. The pack and play has also been moved downstairs for nap times during the day.

I go downstairs for breakfast and Aunt Jenna is cursing at the TV. I hear the man on the TV saying that the animal terrorising Mystic Falls has been caught. I hope that will keep the Founder's Council from finding out about Damon.

"Scum ball. Scum bucket" she says.

"Who are you talking to" Elena asks.

"Him"

"The news guy?" I ask.

"Also known as Logan "Scum" Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

"Oh, no way. You and him? He's cute." Elena says.

"He is not cute. There's nothing cute about him."

I have to agree, I don't think Logan Fell is cute at all. Not my type, I prefer dark haired, blue eyed vampires. Well, one in particular.

"What are you doing with that" Jenna asks, gesturing to the box Elena has.

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the founder's council for their heritage display."

"Is that grandma Beth's wedding ring?" I ask.

"Originally it was great-great-grandma Mary's wedding ring."

Jeremy comes in and starts looking through the box.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth? You know, like on eBay?" he asks.

"You're not gonna find out." I say.

"That stuff is mom and dad's. You can't just give it away."

"We're not giving it away. It's called a loan, Jeremy." Elena replies.

Just then the doorbell rings and it's Stefan. Elena takes him upstairs to her room and I follow them up the stairs to my room. I spend the day catching up on college work and playing with Scarlett before Damon appears in the evening. He plays with Scarlett and he has mastered letting his fangs drop without his eyes and face changing, which always gets a smile from her. He's doing it tonight and pretending to eat her when she lets out her first giggle.

"Oh wow, that's her first laugh" I say with a grin.

Damon looks at me and then back at Scarlett in amazement. "That is amazing" he says. He spends the next hour getting her to giggle again and again before she gets hungry. I feed her and he settles her to sleep in her crib. We then head to bed where we make out for a while.

"This is getting very frustrating" I sigh.

"I know" he growls. "I'm hoping to have some information tomorrow"

He's been contacting everyone he can think of and searching for anything he can find so we can work out how it was possible for me to have his baby. I'm hoping the end is in sight. I sigh and rest my head on his chest with my arm across his waist. He wraps one arm around my back and rests his chin on my head, and we both fall asleep.

* * *

**September 24th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

I'm getting ready for the ball, Scarlett is babbling to herself in her crib. She is wearing a pretty pink dress with tights and I have a navy blue skater style dress with lace detail on the bodice. I pair it with black pumps and my hair is in curled and in a half up style with a diamante clip.

We head downstairs just in time to hear the doorbell. Jenna opens it to reveal Damon dressed in a black suit and black shirt with the top couple of buttons of his shirt left undone. I have to stop myself drooling.

"Damon! Come on in, Imogen's nearly ready" she says.

He comes in and walks over to me.

"You both look beautiful" he says giving Scarlett a kiss on the top of her head before kissing me quickly on the mouth.

"You look very handsome yourself" I say.

"Come on, I'll get Scarlett in her seat" he says taking her from me. He gets her strapped in whilst I get our bags together as we're staying at the boarding house tonight.

"I'll see you at the Lockwood's Jenna" I call as we leave the house.

"Bye! Have fun" she calls.

We head to the Lockwood's. When we arrive Damon carries Scarlett in her seat over one arm whilst linking my arm in his other. We arrive at the door and Mrs Lockwood greets us.

"Imogen! How lovely to see you. And hasn't Scarlett grown, I haven't seen her in forever! Who is your date?"

"This is my boyfriend Damon" I reply. Damon gives me an amused look.

"Well come on in" Mrs Lockwood says.

"Lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to this party" Damon says.

"Well enjoy" she says, turning to the next guests as we head inside.

"Let's get a drink" Damon says.

"I'm sure you're an alcoholic" I say with a giggle and follow him to the bar.

Damon gets us drinks and I take Scarlett out of her seat.

I see Aunt Jenna arrive and she comes over and takes Scarlett from me. "Go and dance" She says to us. Damon holds out his hand and leads me to the dance floor. we dance for a little while before we head back to Aunt Jenna and I take Scarlett back.

We head upstairs to look at the historical display. Elena is already in there with Stefan. She's looking at our parents' wedding rings.

"Your parents?" Stefan asks.

Elena nods. "There's a lot of history here"

She moves over to look at something on the wall.

" 'The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration.' Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names - Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?" She says, looking at Stefan.

I look at Damon with a raised eyebrow wondering how Stefan will explain this one.

"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." I'm not sure if he's trying to help Stefan out or annoy him some more. I stifle a smile.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan says, glaring at Damon.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family." Elena says.

"Yes, I want to hear more about your family too." I reply. Damon gives my arm a squeeze.

"Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers." Damon says. Now I understand where this conversation is going to going and the squeeze was to reassure me that he still wants me.

"The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here..."

"The Battle of Willow Creek." Elena interrupts.

"Right."

"I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."

"What the history books left out was the people that were killed, they weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathisers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood." I really want to add 'by their father' but I bite my lip.

I take Damon's hand and squeeze it tightly. He let's go to take Scarlett from me and once he has her in one arm he takes hold of my hand again. I listen quietly to their exchange.

"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?"

"A woman, I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" Katherine.

"Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just...I hope you two can work it out." Oh sister, he's moved on, you just don't know the whole story and think your boyfriend is so perfect.

"I hope so, too." he replies before turning to me.

"I think we should go dance some more" he says to me.

"I think so too" and I let him lead me to the dance floor where we dance with Scarlett in our arms.

We overhear Elena talking to Stefan about how she doesn't know that much about him and how she wants him to open up to her.

"I told you Stefan keeping Elena in the dark wouldn't end well" I murmur to Damon.

"So it seems" he replies with a smirk.

After a few songs Damon leads me back up to the room with the historical display. This time it's just us. He gives Scarlett back to me.

"Keep watch for me" he says as he gets a wooden box, opens it and takes out a crystal.

"What's that?" I ask.

"An important crystal. I will explain later when we won't be overhead" he says, putting the box back and the crystal in his pocket.

"How did you know it was there?" I ask.

"I put it there a very long time ago" he replies. He puts his hand on my lower back and guides me back out of the room. We go and get Scarlett's car seat and get her strapped in before heading back to the boarding house.

* * *

We head up to Damon's room and I change Scarlett into her pyjamas and feed her before Damon settles her in her crib. I change into my pyjamas and Damon gets out of his suit.

"What is the crystal for?" I ask.

"It was Emily Bennett's talisman. It can be used to unlock the tomb under the church now the comet has passed back over" he replies.

"Oh. So you still want to get Katherine back" I say, unable to hide my disappointment.

"Have you heard anything I've said over the couple of weeks Imz?" he asks, coming over to cup my face in his hands. "From the second I locked eyes with you at that party my whole world shifted. Katherine doesn't mean anything to me, not anymore. You're the one I want. You're the one I love. I got the crystal because I don't want the tomb to be opened. 27 thirsty vampires running around Mystic Falls would be bad. Very bad. It would put you and Scarlett in danger and I don't want that"

I melt at his words and the look of pure love in his eyes. "You love me?" I ask.

"Yes, I do" he replies with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time accepting that anyone would take on a teenage mom and her 4 month old baby"

"Hey" he says, lifting my chin so my brown eyes meet his blue orbs again. "I'm not taking on anyone. I _want_ you. I _love_ you. I love Scarlett. She is my daughter, I'm her Dad and I want to be in her life. I didn't have the best role model with my own Father but I do know that I will do my best to not be like him"

"You're a great Dad to her Damon" I reply and wrap my arms around his waist. "And I love you too." He pulls me close and we kiss then stand in each others embrace for a few minutes, whilst we both take in what we have just admitted to each other. I inhale his scent, a combination of sandalwood and bourbon and sigh happily.

"As Bonnie is a descendant of Emily's I think I should give the crystal to her. She can then decide what to do with it."

I nod in reply. We move to the bed and sit down.

"I also have some news about Scarlett. Not why we were able to make a baby when it shouldn't be possible, but what triggered it to happen that night"

"What do you mean?"

"That night whilst we were having sex we shared blood. From what I've found out doing that can trigger a spell or whatever is the reason we are able to have babies together"

"So you mean we can blood share, or have sex, and nothing will happen as long as we don't do both at the same time?" I ask.

Damon nods in response, beautiful blue eyes dark with lust.

"Well since birth control didn't save me last time at least now we know what to do, or rather not to do, until we want it to happen again" I say.

"You would want more children with me?" he asks.

"Of course, I love you. Just not yet"

"Definitely not yet, but I would like that too" he replies huskily.

He starts to move closer and looks down at my lips. He reaches up a hand to cup my cheek and he gently runs his thumb over my lips before he presses his lips to mine. The kiss starts out slow and sensual, our lips moulding together. I can feel the burn of desire starting in my stomach. The kiss deepens and I feel his tongue on my lower lip asking for entry. I open my mouth and our tongues move together, exploring. He nips my bottom lip with his blunt human teeth and I let out a small moan.

I feel his hands snaking up my sides and under the tank top of my pyjamas. My hands run over his back, exploring every inch I can reach.

Damon moves us so I'm lying back against the pillows and he is on top of me. I can feel his erection against my core, only his boxer briefs and my pyjama shorts between us and I squirm under him. He kisses down my neck whilst he lifts the hem of my top, sliding it up to reveal my stomach. He moves down and kisses the exposed skin before moving and lifting my tank top higher to reveal my breasts. He lifts the top over my head and throws it on the floor before placing open mouth kisses from stomach up to my breasts. He takes one nipple in his mouth, licking the bud so it pebbles in his mouth before moving over to my other breast and doing the same. He then moves back to my mouth, kissing me hard and full of passion. My hands are raking over his chest, abdomen and back and I feel his muscles tense as my hands move over him.

As he's kissing me his hand dances down my body to my shorts. He slips his hand inside and touches my wet folds. He growls at how wet I am before rubbing circles over my clit. I gasp as he slips a finger inside me, using his thumb to massage my clit and I move against his hand. He slips a second finger in and moves them in and out, curling his fingers to hit my sweet spot as he does. It doesn't take long before the heat in my stomach builds and I climax hard around his fingers. He keeps moving as the waves of my orgasm crash over me, drawing it out.

He removes his fingers from me and licks them clean.

"Hmm you taste so good" he murmurs before crashing his lips back to mine. His hands move to my waist and he slides my shorts down my legs. I kick them to the floor and reach for his waist.

"Nu-uh, not yet. I'm not finished with you" he says before moving down between my legs. He kisses up one leg from my knee to the top of my thigh then moves to my other leg and does the same. This time when he reaches the top he slides his tongue into my folds. I moan with the sensation as he lightly nibbles my clit then thrusts his tongue inside me. He keeps alternating between the two and it doesn't take long before I climax again.

"Wow" I mumble as he moves back up to kiss me passionately. As he does I wrap my arms round his neck and legs around his waist and realise he has removed his underwear at some point when the tip of his cock brushes my entrance.

"I need you" I moan. He leans back slightly to look me in the eyes as he enters. We both sigh in satisfaction at the connection.

"You...this...feels...amazing" he whispers breathlessly in my ear as he starts to move, thrusting gently at first. I move my hips in time with his, and our movements get faster as we both feel the heat building inside.

"So close" I gasp and he moves his hand between us to rub my clit as he continues thrusting. I come undone in the most intense orgasm I've ever head, my walls clenching around his cock, and I feel him follow me in his own climax, filling me with his seed.

He collapses on top of me, still inside, neither of us wanting to break the connection and kisses me lazily. He pulls away and gently pushes the hair out of my face.

"That was incredible" he says.

"It was. It's even better than last time and I thought that was amazing" I said.

He chuckles lightly and nuzzles his head in the crook of my neck. I run my hands through his hair and he rubs gentle circles on my side. We lay like that for a while before I start to feel him getting hard again.

"Again?" I ask with a smile.

"Vampire recovery" he replies with a smirk as he starts moving slowly in and out again.

"I love you Damon"

"I love you too"

We spend the next few hours making love several more times before finally falling asleep with our limbs tangled together, wrapped in each others arms.


	8. Just Let Your Heart Speak Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 8. It's a filler chapter, and as such I found it hard to write.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything TVD related.

**September 28th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Mother Tongue; Bring Me The Horizon**

_So don't say you love me, fala "amo"_

_Just let your heart speak up, and I'll know_

_No amount of words can ever find a way to make sense of this_

_So I wanna hear your mother tongue_

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up early and it takes me a few moments to remember I'm at the boarding house. Scarlett and I have been here every night since the Founder's Ball. I think Damon is worried that if we leave him he'll lose us. Damon has his arms around me and is spooning me. We wake up like this every morning. I hear Scarlett starting to make noises so I hop out of bed and head to the bathroom before going over to the crib to find her looking up smiling at me. I scoop her up, change her and head back to bed to feed her.

"Morning" Damon mumbles at us.

"Morning" I say with a yawn.

Scarlett falls back to sleep whilst feeding so I just lie her on the bed between us and we all sleep for another hour before my alarm goes off.

"Urgh, college" I mumble. Damon chuckles at me.

"I'll go make breakfast whilst you get ready" he says, giving us both a kiss before getting out of bed, pulling his jeans on and heading downstairs.

I get us both ready and go downstairs. We eat breakfast and I head to college, dropping Scarlett at daycare on the way.

* * *

We have the house to ourselves that evening as Stefan as gone to my house to cook for Elena in an attempt to win her around. He has still not told her what he is, or anything about himself for that matter, and it's been getting to Elena.

Damon told Zach to leave town if he wanted to stay alive. I'm not sure what he did to upset Damon, but he left. I'm pleased Damon didn't just kill him on the spot. He told he that before he met me he would have done exactly that, but things changed when he met me. We still need to find out more about what there is between us. We both feel a connection to each other, he had a feeling I was in trouble when Tanner was trying to assault me and I wonder if I would have the same feelings if he were in trouble.

Once Scarlett is asleep in her crib I get the baby monitor and we head downstairs.

We get some dinner and then we move to the parlour and sit on the sofa, Damon with his usual whiskey. I decide to ask him something that I've been thinking about since the night of the Founder's Ball.

"Why would sharing blood during sex trigger me getting pregnant?"

Damon sighs. "I don't know exactly. Blood sharing is kinda... personal, and we can form a blood bond with someone we love by doing it."

"What's a blood bond?" I ask.

"It's a connection between the two people in love who blood share. You can get into each others heads. Feel what each other is feeling, communicate without speaking, even over a distance. And the actual blood sharing is very pleasurable"

"So a magical connection?"

"You could call it that, yes" he replies.

"Do you ever want to drink from me?"

"Yes, but I have control over my blood lust"

"Can we try blood sharing?"

He looked at me with wide eyes. "You want to blood share?"

"Err...yes. I'd like to try it" I say, blushing.

He leans over and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes. I love you, I trust you." I reply.

"I love you" he says and he kisses me slowly.

He trails kisses down to my neck, laving the spot where he will bite with his tongue before sinking into my skin with fangs. I gasp as the sharp pain turns to pleasure, and I feel heat building in my core. As he drinks I start to feel what he is feeling. I can feel how much he loves me, I can feel the bloodlust he's feeling and I can feel the pleasure he's feeling at feeding from me. He stops after a couple of minutes and kisses me. I can taste my blood on his tongue. He pulls back and bites into his wrist before putting it to my mouth. I take hold of his arm and drink, moaning with pleasure. I can feel his feelings more strongly, so I assume that the bond is strengthening because I'm now feeding from him. He pulls his wrist away and kisses me again before pulling back and resting his forehead against mine.

"I can feel what you're feeling" I say.

"I can feel what you are feeling too. I can feel how much you love me." he replies.

"And I can feel how much you love me" I reply and kiss him.

"You need to be careful for the next 24 hours and not die" he says.

I chuckle. "Don't worry, I will. I don't want to be a Vampire just yet"

"Yet?" he asks. "You've thought about it?"

"Of course I have" I reply. "Why wouldn't I think about it? I love you and you're a Vampire. I don't want to grow old and die whilst you're still you. I do want to be a little older though, at least 21"

"Are you sure you want this? You understand what it is to be a Vampire?"

"Yes Damon, I do."

"You amaze me more each day Imogen Gilbert" he says, kissing me.

"And I love you Damon Salvatore" I reply.

We head upstairs to bed.

* * *

**September 29th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The next day is the 'Sexy Suds Car Wash' at the high school. Elena tried to convince me to go but I managed to avoid it.

Scarlett and I are staying at home tonight as Aunt Jenna has been getting on my case about staying at Damon's so much. Jeremy is out, no doubt getting stoned and Damon has gone a few towns over to feed. I hear Elena come in the front door and up the stairs before banging on my door.

"Come in" I say.

"Can I talk to you? About Stefan?" she asks.

"Of course you can" I say, patting the bed for her to sit down.

"There's something... different about Stefan. I'm not a believer. People are born, they grow old, and then they die. That's the world we live in. There's no magic, no mysticism, no immortality. There's nothing that defies rational thought. People are supposed to be who they say they are. And not lie or hide their true selves."

I nod. I know she's figured out Stefan is a vampire. I told him he needed to tell her.

"It's not possible. I'm not a believer, I can't be. But how can I deny what's right in front of me? Someone who never grows old... Stefan looks identical now to how he looked in 1953.

He never gets hurt. He cut his hand at the football game. I saw it. But when he showed me his hand it had gone.

He changes in ways I can't explain. His eyes do strange things.

Vicki was bitten. She told Matt it was a Vampire. He can't be, can he?"

"I think you need to ask Stefan" I say.

"You're right. I'm going over there" she replies and leaves.

I text Damon.

_**Elena has figured out Stefan is a Vampire xo ~ Imogen** _

_**Took her long enough xo ~ Damon** _

_**She's gone to your house to confront Stefan xo ~ Imogen** _

_**I'm on my way back to town, I will come to your house xo ~ Damon** _

_**See you soon xo ~ Imogen** _

I hear Elena come back and go into her room. I hear voices and assume Stefan is here to talk to her. Damon appears not long after and we go to sleep.

* * *

**September 30th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The following morning Elena comes in to see me. Damon has already left and I'm feeding Scarlett.

"Did you know?" she asks.

"Yes, Damon told me just after we met" I reply.

"How could you not tell me?!"

"I wanted to, but Stefan asked me not to. I told him you would work it out and that you don't take kindly to having things kept from you. I'm sorry"

"It's okay, you're right, he should have told me. Does it bother you, what Damon is?"

"Honestly, no. Ever since I met him in the coffee shop I've felt safe around him. It's a gut instinct, a feeling. I know I can trust him with both mine and Scarlett's lives" I say. I don't want to explain that he is Scarlett's Dad until we understand how that is possible.

"He is good with her. Never would thought a Vampire would be good with a baby" Elena chuckles.

"I know. What are you going to do about Stefan?"

"I'm going to meet him at the Grill, get some answers"

Okay. See you later" I say, giving her a 1 armed hug.

"See you later" she replies and heads to her own room to get ready.

* * *

I head over to the Boarding House after College to spend some time with Damon.

"I think there's another Vampire in town" he says as I walk in.

"What makes you think that?" I ask as I put Scarlett on her playmat and sit next to him.

"The bodies found at the cemetery last night were all drained of blood"

"And it wasn't you or Stefan. I wonder who it is"

"Stefan will no doubt think it's me though" he scoffs.

"Stefan is an idiot." I reply.

Later that evening as we're getting Scarlett to bed I get a text from Elena.

_**I broke up with Stefan. I will keep their secret but I can't be with him. He kept it from me for weeks ~ Elena** _

_**I understand. I knew you wouldn't take him keeping the truth from you well. ~ Imogen** _

"Elena has broken up with your brother" I tell Damon.

"I told him the lies would catch up with him" he replied, kissing Scarlett on the head as she drifted off to sleep.

"You did, and I said she wouldn't be happy about being lied to"

"Changing the subject, has Bonnie mentioned being a witch yet?"

"No she hasn't. You thinking of the crystal"

"I am. It needs to go back to the Bennett's, but I don't want to give it to her until she knows what she is"

"Could you give it to her Grams?"

"I guess I could. Will you come with me tomorrow?"

"Of course" I replied with a smile.

* * *

**October 1st 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The following day I go with Damon to Grams' house. Damon knocks on the door.

"What do you want?" she asks Damon. "I don't want to get dragged into Vampire business"

"I don't want anything from you Sheila" he replies.

"Then what is it?"

Damon takes the crystal out of his pocket.

"This belonged to Emily Bennett. I thought it should go back to her family" he says.

"Oh... thank you" she replied.

"There's something else you should know. In 1864 there were 27 Vampires captured in the church before it was burned. Emily saved them because the Vampire I thought I loved was one of them. They're trapped in a tomb under the church and this is the key to opening it. I originally wanted it opened to get Katherine out but I no longer want her back. It's up to you what you do with this now" he explains, and hands the crystal over.

"You love Imogen, don't you? I can sense the bond between the two of you"

Damon nods and I look at her in surprise.

"I love him too"

"I can tell. The bond between you two is very strong. I wish I knew more about soulmate bonds but I don't"

"Soulmate bond?" I ask.

"I've never heard of anything like that" Damon also says.

"All I know is when two souls are meant to be they form a bond, which is what I can feel between the two of you. I don't know anything more but I expect there are witches out there who do" Sheila explains.

"Thank you Sheila. At least we know what we need to research now" Damon says, glancing at me then down at Scarlett. Sheila catches the glance.

"She's yours" she states, looking at Damon.

"We believe so, although it's not meant to be possible and we don't know how"

"You look after your girls, Damon. Or you will have me to answer to"

"Don't worry, I would rather die than let anything happen to either of them" he says truthfully. I smile, then we say our goodbyes and head back to the boarding house.


	9. I Was Just Thinking Of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Halloween! Yes, Damon still compels Jeremy to forget, he does it to get on Elena's good side. Don't worry, he won't forget for long!

**October 30th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Don't Mind Me; Walking On Cars**

_Don't mind me, don't mind me_

_I was just thinking of you_

_I feel alive inside, oh finally I feel alive inside_

_Don't mind me, don't mind me_

_I was just thinking of you_

_I feel alive inside, oh finally I feel alive inside_

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

The last few weeks have been quiet. Stefan tried to blame Damon for the teens in the cemetery but I told him that it wasn't him. I'm not sure if he believes that though.

We've been trying to look into the Soulmate bond that Grams told us about, but have not had much luck so far. We have blood shared some more and we have both felt the bond strengthen. We have found that we can both shut off the connection temporarily if we need to, and when we are close enough we can use it to communicate, almost like speaking but I hear Damon's voice in my head and he hears mine in his. It's very handy when we need to say things we don't want others to hear, although Damon often uses it to tell me what he would like to do to me later when he gets me in bed when our siblings are around. He's insatiable, although I'm not complaining.

Talking of Damon and I, we've been spending a lot of time together. I either stay at the boarding house or he sneaks in through my bedroom window and stays at my house. I know I'm 19, but Aunt Jenna has made it clear she doesn't think we should spend every night together so this makes her think we don't sleep together every night. I've still been spending time with Bonnie, Caroline and Elena at the Grill after college. Stefan and Elena are still broken up, and they're both miserable about it. It's the lying that Elena is struggling to forgive, not the fact that Stefan is a Vampire. He's still not even told her that she looks exactly like Katherine. You'd think he would have learnt by now.

It's Friday, which means I finished college early. I pick Scarlett up from daycare and head to the Grill where I'm meeting Damon for lunch. As I walk in the door he comes over and takes Scarlett from me. She's 5 months old now and she's starting to get heavy in her car seat.

"Hey" he says, giving me a kiss.

"Hi" I reply, kissing him back. He leads me to a table and gets Scarlett out of her seat, sitting her in his lap.

The waitress comes over and we order drinks and burgers for both of us.

"She's changed so much in the last couple of months" Damon says as Scarlett bashes one hand on the table whilst chewing a finger of her other hand.

"She has. They change so fast. I kind of miss her being a tiny baby" I say with a sad smile.

It can always be arranged for us to have another" he says, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I chuckle "Not just yet, maybe when she's walking". Damon grins in response.

Our food and drinks arrive and we eat. Scarlett steals a fry from Damon's plate and sucks on it.

"She's going to be ready for real food soon" I say. Damon nods.

We're just finishing up when I get a phone call from Elena.

"Hi Elena" I say.

_"Imogen! Vicki has just turned up here and she's acting really weird. She says the sun hurts her eyes. Can you come home?"_

"Sure, we're at the Grill, we'll be there soon" I reply and hang up. I don't need to repeat the conversation to Damon, I know he heard and he can feel my uneasiness through our bond. He's already strapping Scarlett in her seat and has asked for the bill and paid.

"Thank You" I say. He smiles in response and holds his hand out to help me up.

* * *

We reach my house and walk in.

"Jeremy, go upstairs" Elena orders. I roll my eyes, and I can feel Damon's amusement. Jeremy goes upstairs, leaving us in the hallway.

"You're afraid of me" Damon states.

"Stay away from me. And my sister and niece" she growls. I shake my head in amusement. Damon gives me a smile.

"Hey, there's no need to be rude" I say. "And you don't get a say in who I spend time with."

"I'm here because you called Imogen about Vicki" Damon says.

"She left. She's in transition. Stefan's looking for her"

"Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. I didn't do this. I've been telling Stefan for weeks there's at least one other Vampire in town"

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena asks, still convinced Damon turned Vicki.

"You got the whole life story huh?" I ask.

"I got enough"

"Oh, I doubt that" Damon replies. "I'm going to look for Vicki, you stay here" he says to me.

"Be careful" I say, and give him a kiss before he leaves.

"How can you not see what a monster he is?" Elena asks me.

I sigh. "Because I know him, and he's not a monster. You only know what Stefan has told you. And I can tell you without doubt that he is not the one who turned Vicki"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because in the last 24 hours we've only been apart for the 3 hours I was at college, and he made a trip to the blood bank to stock up in that time"

"Oh... and you're sure he was at the blood bank?"

"Yes, there's a cooler in the back of his car with the blood bags if you want proof" I say, rolling my eyes. "I'm not saying Damon hasn't done terrible things in the past, but I do know that since we met he has been a very different man. He only killed Tanner because he was going to assault me, and I know that is the only person he's killed since he's been back in town. He goes out of town to feed if he needs more than a blood bag"

"So why does Stefan believe it was him?"

"Because Stefan doesn't want to believe he's changed, Elena" I sigh, "Because if he does he'll have to admit he's not the Saint he claims to be".

With that I head upstairs to feed Scarlett.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I head away from the Gilbert house in search of Vicki. I know Stefan thinks it was my doing but it wasn't. I wish he would understand that I'm a different person since Imogen came into my life. I know he would perhaps believe it more if we explained that Scarlett is my daughter and about the soulmate and blood bonds, but we don't know enough about things ourselves to be able to fully explain. It's as though Imogen is my humanity.

_'If either Vicki or Stef show up there let me know'_ I think to Imogen.

_'Will do. I've told Elena it wasn't you. Don't know how she can believe Stefan when he so obviously likes lying to her'_ I get back. I chuckle. She's right. Stefan kept the fact he's a Vampire from Elena, and he's still hiding the fact that Elena is identical to Katherine.

_'I know babe. It's okay, it will all come out in the end'_

I'm heading into the cemetery when I hear gun shots. I quickly vamp over and find Stefan on the ground about to be staked by Logan Fell. I bite Logan to knock him out and throw him to side. I fish the bullet out of Stefan's chest.

"It's wood. They know. If anyone's gonna kill you, it's gonna be me." I say.

Stefan looks behind me.

"No! No! Vicki!" he yells. I turn around to see she's fed on Logan and killed him.

"I'm sorry" she replies, and runs off.

Great, now we have a drug addict newbie vamp on the loose. I stand up and find the Gilbert compass on the ground by Logan.

"Logan must have been using this to track Vampires" I say. Stefan nods.

"You turned her, why?" he asks me.

"I didn't turn her Stef. I've been saying for weeks we've got company but you wouldn't believe me. Well believe me now. We're not the only Vampires in town"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Seriously, since I got into town I fed on Vicki once at the bonfire and I killed Tanner because he tried to assault Imogen. You must have noticed the blood bags in the basement and I told Zach to leave instead of killing him. Why can't you just believe that I've changed? In any case, we have a newbie vamp with addiction issues to find, because if she hurts either of my girls there will be hell to pay" I say before walking off.

I send Imogen a text, I'm too far away now to send her a mental message.

_**Vicki fed, the council are looking for Vampires, Logan Fell shot Stefan with a wooden bullet and nearly staked him. I knocked him out but Vicki fed on him whilst I was getting it out and completed the transition. He's dead but now the Council will be on even higher alert. If Vicki comes back don't invite her in xo ~ Damon** _

_**That's not good, we need to get the council off your trail. Are you looking for Vicki? Stefan just showed up and told Elena. She's told him she can't be with him because of the whole Vampire thing and is crying in her room xo ~ Imogen** _

_**Yes, I'm looking for her. Stay there tonight, I will come over when I've found her. Stef will be extra broody and I'd rather be with you xo ~ Damon** _

I keep looking for Vicki. I find her at the school about to eat Tyler Lockwood. As much as I don't like the kid I don't want anyone else to die. 'Thanks Imogen for being my conscience' I think to myself with an eye roll. Stefan arrives at the same time and pulls Vicki off Tyler.

"What's going on here, Stefan? What's wrong with her?" Tyler asks.

"You don't talk." I say.

"Screw you, dude."

" "Dude"? Really? "Dude"?"

"Damon, don't!"

"Oh come on. Who's gonna miss this idiot?"

Tyler then punched me.

"Ooh! Don't you hurt him." Vicki shouts.

I grab Tyler by the throat.

"Forget what you saw here tonight. None of us were here." I say, compelling him before throwing him down on the ground. The 3 of us vamp away before he can open his eyes.

I leave Stefan to take Vicki back to our house before heading back to the Gilbert house to spend the night with Imogen and Scarlett. I prefer it when they stay at the boarding house, but she is safer at home tonight. I always stay there with her as I can't imagine sleeping without Imogen in my arms. Of course I would never admit that to anyone besides Imogen. Got a reputation to maintain.

I climb in through the window.

"Hey"

"Hey yourself" she replies, smiling. I go over to Scarlett's crib and give her a quick kiss before getting out of my clothes and joining Imogen in bed.

"You find her?" she asks.

"Yep. At the school about to eat Tyler Lockwood. Stefan has taken her to the house and I compelled Tyler to forget"

"You're going to help her?"

"We're going to try. Baby bro will probably try and get her on his bunny diet. I'm not sure how any of it will work given her addiction issues" I sigh. I start kissing her neck. It's been a long day and I need her.

"Damon" she moans. "What if someone hears?"

"You'll have to be quiet" I reply with a small chuckle before capturing her lips with mine. My hands roam her body and I quickly remove her pyjamas. I move my hand down and find her extremely wet when I slip two fingers inside.

"I love how you're always so wet for me" I growl.

"Damon" she moans as I move my fingers in and out. "I need more"

I know what she wants so I remove my fingers and flip us so she is on top, straddling me. She lifts herself up and positions my cock at her entrance before sinking down, taking me in. It always feels so amazing when I enter her, like I've come home. She starts to move, slowly at first, before getting faster. I thrust upwards to meet her movements as we both chase our climaxes. I reach down and rub her clit tipping her over the edge. I pull her face down and kiss her, swallowing her moans and shouts as her walls clench around me, tipping me over the edge too. We ride out our climaxes together before she rolls off me and we cuddle up together before falling asleep.

* * *

**October 31st 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

I wake early with my arms wrapped around Imogen and her back pressed to my chest. It doesn't matter how we go to sleep we always wake up like this. I have never been a cuddler, but with her I am. I guess the difference is that I'm in love with her. I nuzzle into her neck, breathing in her scent. I can hear Scarlett sleeping in her crib, and I smile to myself wondering how I got so lucky.

I lie there for a while before I give Imogen a kiss on her head and get out of bed. I pull my clothes on and I'm just getting my boots on when she looks at me.

"Don't go" she mumbles.

"I have to before everyone else wakes up" I sigh, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Not fair" she pouts.

I chuckle lightly and give her a kiss.

"I know, but you don't want me to get caught in here, and I should probably go and help Stef with Vicki" I say.

"I'll see you later though" she asks.

"Of course" I reply. "Love you"

"Love you"

I give Scarlett a kiss on her head before jumping out of the window and heading home.

* * *

I hear Stefan and Vicki in Stefan's room so I head up there.

"I don't understand why I have to stay cooped up here. Why can't I just go home?" Vicki asks.

"Because you're changing, Vicki, and it's not something you wanna do alone." Stefan replies.

I'm looking through the paper to see if there is anything about Logan Fell. "There's nothing about that Logan guy Vicki killed in here. Not a word. Someone's covering it up." I say, playing with the Gilbert compass.

"What is that?" Vicki asks.

"This is a very special, very old compass. What was Logan Fell doing with it? Aren't you curious?"

"Well, if you're so worried that somebody's onto you, why don't you just leave town, Damon?" Stefan says.

"We should all be worried." I reply.

"Hey, um, I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" Vicki asks.

"Here." Stefan says, handing her a cup.

"What is it?" she asks.

"It's what you're craving."

"Don't lie to the girl. It's so not what you're craving, but it'll do in a pinch, right, Stef?" I say.

"What is it?" Vicki asks.

"Yeah, what is it? Is it a skunk? Saint Bernard? Bambi?" I tease.

"Go on. Give it a try." Stefan tells her.

"She's new. She needs people blood. She can't sustain on that stuff." I say.

"Yeah, why can't I have people blood?" Vicki asks.

"Yeah, why can't she?"

"Because it's wrong to prey on innocent people, Vicki." Stefan says. I roll my eyes.

"You don't have to kill to feed. Just find someone really tasty and then erase their memory after wards. It's so easy." I explain.

"No, no, no. There's no guarantee that you can control yourself, okay? It takes years to learn that. You could easily kill somebody, and then you have to carry that with you for the rest of your life, which, if I haven't made clear, is eternity."

I roll my eyes. "Don't listen to him. He walks on a moral plane way out of our eye line. I say snatch, eat, erase. We're Vampires, we feed on people. It's in our nature. Just because Stefan can't control himself on people blood doesn't mean every Vampire has control issues."

"Hey, look at me. We choose our own path. Our values and our actions, they define who we are." Stefan says to Vicki.

I decide I've had enough of Saint Stefan. "Okay, count deepak. I am outta here." I say and head out of the room.

"Can I have some more?" I hear Vicki ask as I'm leaving and I head downstairs. As I get there the doorbell rings.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

I get up just after Damon leaves and head to the bathroom. I get ready for the day and just as I'm done Scarlett wakes up. I feed her and get her ready before heading downstairs to grab some breakfast.

"Jeremy left early to join the search party for Vicki" Elena says.

"We need to tell him everything" I say. "It's not fair to keep it from him.

"No, no, no, no, no." she replies. "Jeremy can't know about all this."

"I think Jeremy might be the key to Vicki hanging on to her humanity. He deserves to know what is happening to her."

"I said no Imogen! Come on, we're going to see how she's doing."

I roll my eyes before strapping Scarlett in her car seat. I follow Elena out to her car and we head over to the boarding house. When we arrive Elena rings the bell. Damon answers, leaning against the door.

"Is Stefan here?" Elena asks.

"Yep!" Damon replies, giving me one of his signature smirks. I smile back.

"Where is he?" Elena asks.

"And good morning to you, little miss " I'm on a mission"." he says to Elena before turning to me. "Good morning to my two favourite girls" he says giving me a kiss and taking Scarlett from me.

"How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that you've done?" Elena says.

"And how can you be so brave and stupid to call a vampire arrogant and glib? Not to mention I haven't actually done anything. It's about time you stopped believing Saint Stefan's lies."

"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead."

"Yes, you would." Damon says. I can feel his amusement so I know he's just teasing her.

"But I'm not." Elena says.

"Yet."

"Where is Stefan?"

"He's upstairs singing "The rain in Spain". Knock yourself out. Come on Imz, let's go out for lunch."

We get in his car (he had seatbelts installed in the back so Scarlett's car seat can be secured) and head to the Grill.

* * *

After lunch Damon drops us at home before he heads to his own house. He's picking us up later to go back to the Grill before the Halloween party at the school.

I'm in my room and hear Elena asking Jeremy if he wants to go to the Halloween party with her. I get myself and Scarlett ready, I'm dressed as Sally from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and Scarlett has a Jack Skellington outfit on.

_'I'm outside_ ' I hear Damon's mental message. We head downstairs and out to his car.

Once Scarlett's car seat is secured we head to the Grill.

"I did a stupid thing.", he tells me.

"What did you do?" I ask.

"I thought I would show Vicki the positives of being a Vampire and taught her about running. Except she ran off. Stefan's looking for her."

"Well I can't blame you for wanting to give her some positive information." I say. "I just hope Stefan finds her before she hurts anyone."

We arrive and head in, grabbing a table. I see the Mayor and his wife a couple tables away having drinks.

"I need to try and get in with the Founder's Council" Damon tells me once he returns from the bar with a bourbon for himself and a coke for me.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" I ask.

"Zach was growing vervain and had promised he would supply some to the council. I'm going to see if I can talk to Mrs Lockwood about it." he says. I can tell he's listening to the Mayor and his wife. I have my back to their table, but I see him smile and raise his glass.

"The Mayor just left, I'm going to go flirt with Mrs Lockwood. Remember I love you." He says with a grin before getting up.

I can hear their conversation, but I feel the waves of love that Damon is sending me through our bond to reassure me that his flirting is just a means to getting in with the council.

"Let me guess. Daisy Buchanan. I love a good "gatsby" look." Damon says to Mrs Lockwood, taking a seat opposite her.

"I've met you before. Aren't you Imogen Gilbert's boyfriend?" she replies.

"Yes I am" he says. _'I love you'_ I hear in my head.

"It's Damon, right?"

"Ah, you remember?"

"Well, you have a face that's hard to forget. What's your last name Damon?"

_'Definitely unforgettable'_ I think to him.

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore." Mrs Lockwood repeats.

I hear Damon hum in response.

"Are you any relation to Zach?"

"Zach's my uncle. How do you know Zach?" He asks. I can tell he tried to use compulsion and I feel his frustration that it didn't work.

"Are you okay?" Mrs Lockwood asks Damon.

"Yeah. I think there's something in my eye." he replies.

_'Nice save. She's on vervain I assume?'_ I think to Damon.

_'That's my guess.'_ he replies.

"Well, I know Zach from the Founder's Council. You know the Salvatores were one of this town's original settlers."

"Yes, they were. I wasn't aware that Zach was a member. I just recently moved back home and haven't really had a chance to meet many of his friends."

_'Zach never told me he was on the council. Probably because I would have killed him before you came along'_ I hear Damon in my head, and I feel amusement with the statement.

_'Someone had to make you a better man'_ I return with a wave of my own amusement.

"Well, will you tell him to return my calls? I've left several messages." Mrs Lockwood says.

"Zach went out of town for a bit. But if it's about the Vervain..."

"You know about the Vervain?"

"Well, I'm a Salvatore. Of course I do." Damon replies.

"Of course."

"Hmm. Cheers."

_'There's your opening, offer to get her the vervain she needs'_ I think to Damon.

_'You're not just a pretty face are you Gilbert? '_ he replies.

_'Nope, and don't you forget it!'_

I get a feeling of amused love back from him.

"So you need vervain?" he asks.

"Yes. my husband and I only have left what his parents left him, And Zach had promised that he could supply us with more." Mrs Lockwood replies.

"Well, I talk to him all the time. So why don't I just ask him?"

I hear Mrs Lockwood hum in response.

"Mmm. How much do you need? I mean, how many people, you think?" Damon asks.

"Well, there's our children, of course."

"Of course."

"And, um, friends, family, and everyone on the council."

"The council?"

"Zach knows how many. But I am so late. My husband is not going to be happy with me."

"Well, are you happy with your husband?" Damon asks, sending a feeling of love my way.

"You're flirting with me."

"You flirted with me first."

"True." Mrs Lockwood replies.

"Let us escort you to the school. Imogen is just over there with Scarlett. It's not safe out there alone. I mean, I've seen 10 vampires tonight." Damon says with a chuckle.

"Well, if only the real ones were as easy to find."

_'Yes, if only. We need to find out who else is here before you get caught'_ I think to him.

"How's that search goin'?" he says out loud , whilst saying to me mentally _'Couldn't agree more, last thing I want is to get caught, especially when I've been on my best behaviour'_

"Oh, we had the founder's party, and anyone who arrived during the day was eliminated as a suspect."

"Oh."

_'They don't know about daylight rings'_ we both think to each other at the same time.

"And all the rest were just dead ends, so mmm mmm, I gotta go." Mrs Lockwood says and gets up to leave.

"Okay." Damon replies and comes back to join me.

"That was... interesting" I say.

"You know that was all fake, right?" he says, squeezing my hand.

"I know"

"Come on, let's get to the school" he says, picking up Scarlett and holding out his hand for me.

* * *

We arrive at the school, and I'm carrying Scarlett on my hip. I hear my phone chime to alert me to a new message.

_**Vicki is at the party, make sure she stays away from Jeremy ~ Elena** _

I tell Damon who rolls his eyes.

We walk up to the cauldron where Bonnie and Caroline are. I notice Bonnie is wearing the crystal Damon gave to Grams.

"Nice costumes" I say. "Love the necklace Bonnie."

"You too, Scarlett looks adorable" Caroline gushes.

"You could have dressed up Damon" Bonnie says.

"Not my thing" Damon replies. I chuckle and we head off.

We wander around for a while when Damon gets a phone call from Stefan.

"What?" Damon says.

"I need your help. By the buses. Vicki attacked Jeremy and Elena so I had to kill her" Stefan replies and hangs up.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Vicki attacked Jeremy and Elena, Stefan killed her" he replies and leads me to the buses. We see Elena sat down next to Vicki's dead body. Stefan obviously wanted Damon to do the body disposal for him.

"You should go, I got this" Damon says to Elena.

"You did this. This is your fault" she says and tries to hit him but he grabs her hand to stop her.

"Elena, Damon did nothing wrong. We don't know who turned her, and it was Stefan who killed her." I say.

"People die around you." Elena says to Damon.

"Fuck sake Elena, he didn't do this! If you want to blame anyone blame Stefan for only giving her animal blood instead of letting her feed on human blood and learning to control the bloodlust" I shout. Elena looks at me open mouthed.

"You need to leave. Your wounds are bleeding and you need to leave." Damon says to her. I can feel he is in control so he is saying it to get her to go before I shout any more and scare Scarlett. She leaves.

"Come on, let's get go check on your brother" Damon says to me, tossing Vicki's body over his shoulder like she's nothing. We head to the car where he puts her in the trunk whilst I get Scarlett in the car. We head to my house and see Stefan and Elena talking on the porch.

I leave Scarlett with Damon and head upstairs with Elena to see Jeremy.

"Do you understand what happened tonight?" I ask.

"No. I don't understand. I mean, I know what I saw, but...I don't understand."

"She was going to kill me." Elena says.

"Now she's dead. Vicki's dead." Jeremy cries. I wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Jer." I say.

"Make it stop. It hurts."

"It's okay. it's okay." Elena soothes.

"Why does everybody have to die on me?"

"Oh, my god. come here." Elena says, and hugs Jeremy too.

We stay like that for several minutes until Jeremy calms down, then we go downstairs and back to the Salvatore brothers.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks Stefan.

"I, uh...I wanted to help her. But instead, uh...How's he doin'?" he replies.

I head over to Damon and wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his chest. I breathe in his scent and it helps soothe me after seeing my brother in such a state.

"He's a mess. I don't want him going through this again. He's just a kid." Elena tells Stefan.

"Elena, what can I do? I...What can I do to help? I'll do anything." Stefan says

"Can you make him forget?"

"Elena..." I say. "He should have the choice."

"Imogen, Stefan, please. I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened."

"We'll help him get through it" I say.

"If I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work...Because of who I am. Because of how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right."

"I can do it. If this is what you want...I'll do it." Damon says. I look up at him.

"It's what I want." Elena replies.

"It's not what I want" I say.

"Immy please. You saw what he's like. He was a mess after Mom and Dad, we can't let him go through that again. I don't see how he will get through it this time."

"Urgh fine, whatever you want Elena, as always. Just know that I do not agree with this."

"What do you want him to know?" Damon asks Elena.

"I want you to tell him that Vicki left town and she's not coming back. That he shouldn't look for her or worry about her. He's gonna miss her, but he knows it's for the best." she replies.

Damon heads inside and Elena sits down next to Stefan. I turn around and lean against the railing of the porch. Scarlett has fallen asleep in her car seat which is at my feet.

"Part of me wishes that I could forget, too...Forget meeting you, finding out what you are and everything that's happened since." Elena says to Stefan.

"Is that what you want?" he asks her.

"Yes, it is. Because I don't want it to be like this. I don't wanna feel like this. But I can't. With everything that's happened...I can't lose the way I feel about you." she says.

Damon comes back outside and stands with me.

"It's done." he says.

Elena gets up and walks into the house without a word.

"You know it's appropriate to say thank you when someone does you a favour" I call after her.

"Come on, let's get home" Damon says, picking up Scarlett and wrapping an arm around me. He gets Scarlett in my car before turning round to me and kissing me.

"I'll see you there in a while, I need to deal with Vicki" he says.

"See you soon" I say.

I drive to the boarding house and head up to his room with Scarlett. I get her out of her car seat and she wakes up, so I feed her before getting changed and settling her in her crib for the night. I then get myself changed into one of Damon's shirts and climb into bed. I lie there waiting for him, knowing that I won't sleep until he's back. I can't sleep unless I'm wrapped up in his arms.

When he walks in the room a little while later I literally throw myself at him, devouring his lips in a passionate kiss.

"Woah, hey" he says pulling back after a couple minutes. "Not that I'm complaining but what's all this about?"

"I've had a really crappy day and I needed it" I reply. "Between you flirting with Mrs Lockwood, and before you say anything I know it meant nothing and you love me, but it still made me jealous, and Elena insisting everything is your fault and then insisting Jeremy forgets I just need you."

"I'm sure I can make you forget" he smirks before kissing me passionately. He lifts me up and wraps my legs around his waist. He moves us back so my back is pressed against the wall and I can feel his erection grinding against my core.

"You look so hot in my shirt" he whispers in my ear "but it would be better on the floor" and he pulls away slightly to lift his shirt over my head, leaving me in just my panties.

"You're wearing too much" I growl and lift his shirt over his head. He removes his jeans and boxer briefs before shredding my panties and quickly entering me. I gasp as he does, enjoying the feeling of finally being connected again, the feeling of home.

He thrusts into me roughly, I don't mind. We're both in need of a quick release. It's not long before I'm falling over the edge, taking Damon with me. He carries me over to the bed where he gently lays me down before hopping in and wrapping me in his arms. We both fall asleep quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for not saving Vicki in this fanfic. After I struggled with the last chapter, this one was easy to write, and is another massive one as a result.
> 
> Thanks to my new follows and favourites. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story. Please also review! I'm thinking Imogen is adopted and comes from a lineage of witches. What do you think?


	10. Wrong Side of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Stefan's birthday. Will Lexi live? Read on!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 10. Anyone who's listened to the songs for each chapter has probably realised I have think for Rock/Metal music!
> 
> Thank you to the new kudos and comments. Knowing people are enjoying my writing makes me want to write more.
> 
> As usual I don't own anything TVD related. Damon has been chewing my ear off though, so a lot of this is in his POV.

**November 1st 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Wrong Side of Heaven; Five Finger Death Punch**

_I spoke to God today, and she said that she's ashamed._

_What have I become, what have I done?_

_I spoke to the Devil today, and he swears he's not to blame._

_And I understood, cause I feel the same._

_Arms wide open, I stand alone._

_I'm no hero, and I'm not made of stone._

_Right or wrong, I can hardly tell._

_I'm on the wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side of hell._

_The wrong side of heaven, and the righteous side, the righteous side of hell._

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up the next morning to Damon nuzzling my neck. I roll over and give him a quick kiss.

"Stefan has a visitor" he says.

"Who?" I ask.

"His best friend, Lexi. She doesn't like me. much"

"Dare I ask why?"

"I locked her on a rooftop in New York in the 70's during the day. She doesn't have a daylight ring."

"And why did you do that? I ask.

"Stefan sent her to try and get her to turn my humanity on. I was pissed he didn't come himself"

"No wonder she doesn't like you" I chuckle. "You know you don't always have to be a dick to everyone. Why don't you let people see the good in you?" I ask.

"Because when people see good, they expect good, and I don't wanna have to live up to anyone's expectations" he replies.

I sigh. "So the good is reserved for me huh?"

"You and Scarlett" he replies with a grin.

"How long is she staying?"

"She's just here for Stef's birthday"

"When is that?"

"Today. They're talking about Elena. Lexi wants him to go to New York to see Bon Jovi but he won't leave Elena"

"Bon Jovi huh. Not really my thing."

"Mine neither. I need to take some vervain to the Sheriff."

"I should get home. I know Elena wanted Jeremy to forget everything but I'm really not on board with it."

"I only did it so Elena would realise I'm not the monster Stefan says I am" he pouts.

"I know, but I did say I only agreed because I'd had a crappy day and didn't want to argue any more. I'm going to tell him everything."

Scarlett wakes then so Damon hops out of bed, gets her from the crib and changes her before giving her to me to feed.

"I'll go and grab us some coffee" he says, getting dressed and disappearing downstairs.

I feed Scarlett and just as she's done he reappears.

"Just been warned by Lexi not to ruin her time with Stefan" he says handing me a coffee.

"Perhaps you should let him enjoy his time with her." I say. "It's not every day a person turns a hundred and summat."

"162" Damon chuckles.

I pass Scarlett to him whilst I get ready for the day, then I head downstairs with Damon.

"And what are you and a baby doing with him?" I hear a female voice ask.

"Lexi I presume?" I say to the blond Vampire.

"The one and only. And you are?"

"I'm Imogen and this is Scarlett." I say, inclining my head towards my baby. She coos at Lexi from her car seat. Lexi looks at Scarlett and an odd look crosses her face. I know she is seeing her black hair and icy blue eyes that are just like Damon's.

"Nice to meet you" she says. "I still don't understand what you're doing with him"

"Well he's a dick, but he's my dick" I reply with a chuckle.

"I like you" she chuckles before heading upstairs.

"I'm your dick huh?" Damon asks.

"Yep and you know it" I say with a smirk.

"Come on" he says. "I've got a Sheriff to see."

We go out to the cars and he gets Scarlett secured in the back then pins me up against the car kissing me.

"If you carry on with that I'll be dragging you back inside" I say breathlessly.

"Promises" he replies with a wink. "I'll see you later"

"See you later" I reply before getting in the car and heading home.

* * *

I arrive home to Jenna and Elena wallowing on the couch and Jeremy doing homework. I say hi and hear how they had to speak to Sheriff Forbes about Vicki leaving town, then I head upstairs to settle Scarlett for a nap. I hear Elena come upstairs and go to her room. I spend some time catching up on college work until there's a knock on my door and Bonnie pops her head in.

"Come with me" she says.

I nod and follow her to Elena's room.

"You up?" Bonnie asks.

"No" Elena replies.

"Why haven't you called me back?"

"I''m sorry."

"Are you gonna stay in there forever?"

"She's going to try" I say.

"Move over." Says Bonnie. Elena moves over and I sit at the bottom of the bed. "I'm officially worried. What's going on?"

"I'm tired of thinking...of talking I..." Elena groans.

"Can I get a one-line version so I can at least pretend to be helpful?" Bonnie asks.

"She broke up with Stefan" I say.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Right stupid question. I know I've been kind of MIA when you need me the most. I suck."

"You wanna make it up to me. Get my mind off of it." Elena says.

"Just remember you asked for it." Bonnie says as she closes the window and tears open one of Elena's pillows, dumping feathers over the bed.

"Hey!" I exclaim.

"Be patient." Bonnie retorts.

"OK." I reply.

"I need to swear you both to secrecy."

"It's kind of a bad week for that kind of stuff." Elena says. I nod in agreement.

"Swear, 'cause I'm not supposed to be showing you this."

"OK, I swear."

"So do I" I add.

"There's no windows open, right?" Bonnie asks.

"Right." Elena replies.

"There's no fan. No air conditioning."

"None. What are you doing?" I ask.

"Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it. You ready?"

"Bonnie what's going on?" Elena asks.

Bonnie holds her hand above the feathers and slowly lifts it up. A feather floats in the air. She then holds her other hand up and several feathers float. They drop down and then the room is filled with floating feathers.

"It's true girls. Everything my Grams told me. It's impossible and it's true. I'm a witch."

"I believe you." Elena says in amazement.

"So do I" I say.

"It's weird huh? After all this time joking about being psychic, I really am a witch. You don't think I'm a freak now, do you?"

"No of course not. Bonnie I just...don't understand though. If your Grams asked you to keep all this a secret, why did you tell us?"

"You're my best friend. Imogen is your sister. I can't keep secrets from you." Bonnie says with a smile.

"I think it's amazing" I say. I hear Scarlett starting to cry in my room so I excuse myself to go and see to her.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I walk into the Sheriff's building with a box of vervain. One of the deputies shows me through to her office.

"Mr Salvatore, come on in. Could you get the door for me?" she says.

"Sure."I reply, closing the door.

"I understand from Mrs. Lockwood that your uncle is out the town."

"Yes he is. But I spoke with Zach. He filled me in and asked if I could bring this to you." I say, handing over the box.

The sheriff opens it an lifts out a bunch of the plant.

"Vervain." she says.

"That's all we have at the moment, I hope it's enough." I say.

"It's a small circle...Founding families, a few city officials." she explains.

"And your deputies, of course right? Are we any closer?" I ask.

"I think our facts are wrong. We've always believed that vampires can only come out in the dark. What if that's changed?"

Shit. This is not good.

"So is that even possible?" I ask.

"We've exhausted every other option. We have to consider the vampire may be walking around during the day. Right in front of us."

"Hmmm. So what's the next step?"

"We're now looking at anyone new to town, since the deaths began. Should turn up a suspect or two."

And I'm new to town. I arrived just before the deaths started. Shit shit shit. I need a plan.

"And I, of course, will do anything I can to help." I say.

I say my goodbyes and leave, heading to the Gilbert house to see Imogen.

* * *

Imogen answers the door and we head upstairs.

"The Sheriff is getting closer. She thinks they may be wrong about Vampires only coming out at night and she's going to look into who is new in town since around the time the murders started. I'm screwed unless I can come up with a plan."

"Shit. This really isn't good. I can't lose you" Imogen says, tears in her eyes. I wrap my arms around her and hold her against my chest.

"You won't. I have a plan but it's not a good one."

"What is the plan"

"Throw a party at the Grill, frame Lexi for attacking someone outside. They'll think they got the Vampire they're looking for"

"Not Lexi. She's your brother's best friend. How can you expect him to stop seeing you as a monster if you do that?" she says, shaking her head.

"Do you have any better ideas?" I ask.

"The party is a good idea. I can get Caroline to throw a party at the Grill. And framing a Vampire would get them off your trail. Just not Lexi. How about finding someone who is a bad person, turning them and framing them? They would at least deserve it." she says.

"I could go with that. It would work. You're definitely the brains in this relationship" I say, giving her a kiss.

"Someone has to be" she says with a smirk.

She calls Caroline who is more than happy to arrange a party. I give Imogen my credit card and she heads out to meet Caroline to arrange everything whilst I head home.

* * *

I walk into the parlour where Stefan and Lexi are. I hear Lexi asking what they're doing tonight.

"Funny you should ask." I say, walking in.

"Well I wasn't asking you." I roll my eyes at her response.

"There's a party at the grill. You'll love it. Banquettes, Tacky wait staff, All of Stefan's friends."

"Yeah, I don't want a Birthday party." Stefan says. He can be such a bore.

"Well, It's not for you. It's a party party. No one's gonna know it's your birthday. Imogen and Caroline are throwing it."

"Damon, stay away from Caroline."

"We're friends, it's cool. Imogen is the only girl for me and you know it. It's important for the town to see us out and about like normal folk. We need to blend." I say. I see Lexi's stash of blood and can't help but make a comment to annoy her. "I prefer mine at 98.6." It's true. I warm blood bags before I drink them.

As I leave I hear Lexi asking Stefan if they can go. Mission accomplished.

* * *

I head out of the house and go looking for the dodgiest person I can find. After a while of wandering around town and compelling a few people to tell me their darkest secrets I find a guy called Ethan who murdered his ex girlfriend and didn't get caught. He was gloating about it. I knew Imogen would agree he deserves his fate. I compel him to meet me outside the Grill later and there for the party.

I arrive at the Grill and Imogen comes over.

"Great party right?" she says with a smile.

"I'm glad I thought of it. You and Caroline have done a great job" I say.

"Did you find anyone?" she asks.

"Yep. A guy who murdered his ex girlfriend and was gloating about how he didn't get caught" I say.

"Perfect. He deserves what's coming to him" she replies. She gives me a quick kiss before heading off to speak to Caroline and Bonnie and I head over to Lexi.

"Where's my brother?" I ask.

"He said he'd meet me here" she replies.

I'm about to offer to buy her a drink but she walks away. I shrug and head to the bar.

"Bourbon" I order when the bartender asks me what I want. When he gives me my drink I turn around and see Stefan has arrived and Lexi is trying to get him to dance. I smirk at her efforts. My brother does not like dancing.

Imogen comes over and hops in the seat next to me.

"Where's Scarlett?" I ask.

"She's with Aunt Jenna. I thought she'd be safer at home if there's a newbie vamp about" she says.

"Hmmm good thinking" I reply. I check the time and see it's almost time for Ethan to meet me outside. "Time to put the plan in motion" I say before giving her a quick kiss and heading out the door.

I meet Ethan outside and take him to the alley. I feed him my blood and snap his neck. Whilst I'm waiting for him to wake up I hear a couple coming. I shift us into the shadows so they don't see us.

When Ethan wakes up I lead him over to the couple and bite the guys neck. I encourage Ethan to feed to complete the transition. I make sure he doesn't kill the guy. I compel them both to forget about me being there but remember Ethan and to wait until we've gone inside before screaming for help.

As we head inside I see Stefan and Lexi having fun. Elena is just ahead of me so I sneak up behind her.

"Stefan smiles. Alert the media." I say.

"You haven't given him a lot of reasons to be happy lately."

"Oh, you're right. Poor Stefan persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother; does it get tiring being so righteous?" I ask.

"It flares up in the presence of psychopaths."

"Ouch! Well, consider this psychopath's feelings hurt. Especially since I've done nothing wrong since I've been in town."

"What did you do to my brother?" she asks.

"I'm gonna need a less vague question, Elena"

"When you did what you did to Jeremy's memory of Vicki, what else did you do to him?"

"You asked me to take away his memory of fangs and all the bad stuff. You wanted me to take away his suffering." I tell her.

"But he's acting different. He seems okay with everything and he's a little too okay. I mean he's studying; he's not doing drugs; he's not drinking; are you sure you didn't do something else?" she asks.

"I'm positive, Elena, I took away the suffering." I reply and lead Ethan to the bar.

"Drink?" I ask.

"Whiskey please" he replies. I can see him struggling with the bloodlust and hope the Sheriff doesn't take too long to arrive.

I see Imogen over the other side of the bar with Bonnie and Caroline.

_'Stay over there, I don't want you to get hurt'_ I think to her.

_'Okay. Is that him with you?'_ she asks.

_'Yep. I can hear the Sheriff outside, he'll be gone soon'_ I reply.

I hear the Sheriff come in with the couple from the alley, followed by a couple of deputies.

"Look around let me know if you see anything." she says. The couple point to Ethan.

The Sheriff comes over and injects him with vervain. I feign innocence.

"What are you doing?!" I ask.

"Thank you for the vervain; now if you'll excuse me." she replies and the two deputies take Ethan outside.

I know the dose they gave him won't keep him down for long so I follow them outside.

I see Ethan throw off the deputies and go to attack the Sheriff. I run up at human speed and stake him in the heart.

"Are you okay?" I ask the Sheriff.

She nods in response. "Thank you. Get him in the car quickly."

"Alright" I say and help her get him in the car.

"You were pretty handy with that stake." she says.

"It was just...reflex. I guess the adrenaline kicked in." I reply.

"This nightmare is finally over." she says in relief.

"Yeah you caught a lucky break with that couple, without them you wouldn't have been able to ID the vampire."

"We're lucky. Well thank you again."

"You're welcome." I nod and head back into the bar.

I see Imogen and head over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind. She turns around in my arms and puts her arms around my neck.

"Hey" she says out loud. _'Did it go to plan?'_ she thinks to me.

"Hey yourself" I say. _'Yep, I even staked him myself'_

"Can we go then? Aunt Jenna will probably need rescuing from Scarlett" she asks.

"Of course" I reply.

We leave and go pick up Scarlett before heading to my house. We're in the parlour when Stefan and Lexi walk in.

"What was that about Damon?" Stefan asks me.

"I spoke to Liz Forbes earlier, they were getting too close to us, and since we haven't figured out who this other Vampire is that has been killing yet I needed to get them off our trail."

"Like it isn't you who's been killing." Lexi huffs.

"He's killed one person, the school's History teacher. And the reason he did that is because he was trying to sexually assault me." Imogen says.

"What about the teens in the cemetery?" Stefan asks.

"We were together all that night. It wasn't Damon. And it wasn't Damon who turned Vicki, again, he was with me and Scarlett that night." She tells him.

"I guess." Stefan says.

"Come on, let's go to bed" I say to Imogen, picking up Scarlett and heading for the stairs. I get Scarlett ready for bed before Imogen feeds her and settles her in the crib for the night.

"I've got something to show you" I say. I lead her out to the hallway and stop at the door to the room next to mine.

"I thought Scarlett should have her own room here, with how much you both stay over."

"Really?" Imogen exclaims.

"Go ahead" I say, gesturing towards the door.

She opens the door and gasps in surprise. I have decorated the room in neutral colours with an animal theme. There's a crib, a rocking chair, dresser and a beautiful toybox. There are two doors in opposite corners; one for the closet and one to the en suite bathroom.

"It's amazing Damon, thank you." I say.

"I thought the crib in my room can stay there so she has a safe place when you're getting dressed or whatever. She can sleep in here whenever you're ready for her to." I say.

"It's perfect. I love you" she says.

"I love you" I reply before leading her back to my room and to bed.


	11. Truth, Lies and In Between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything TVD related, only my own OC's.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read, left a comment and kudos.

**November 30th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Blue on Black; Five Finger Death Punch**

_Blind, oh, but now I see_

_Truth, lies and in between_

_Wrong can't be undone, oh no_

_Well it slipped from the tip of your tongue_

**Imogen's POV**

It's been a few weeks since Stefan's birthday and the party at the Grill. Damon and I have continued to spend as much time together as possible; it seems that both of us hate being away from the other. Damon even came to Thanksgiving dinner with us, despite not celebrating any holidays since he was human. He took me shopping last week as Scarlett needed new clothes since she's outgrown most of her things. He also bought two high chairs, one for my house and one for the boarding house. I can't quite believe our baby is starting to eat food.

After college I head home. Elena has invited Bonnie and Caroline over for a girl's night, and Damon is actually spending some time trying to bond with Stefan. Hopefully they won't stake each other.

I walk in and find Elena, Bonnie and Caroline putting the takeout onto plates for us all. I put Scarlett in her highchair and get her baby food ready.

"She's growing up too fast" Caroline says.

"I know, I miss the newborn stage" I say.

"Well you could always convince Damon to have a baby with you, he's really good with Scarlett and she's not even his" Bonnie says. If only they knew!

"I'm still only 19, there's plenty of time for more babies yet" I reply.

We eat quietly for a bit before Bonnie brings up Emily's crystal. She has been wearing it as a necklace.

"I threw it away" Bonnie says.

"You threw it away?" I ask.

"Yeh, this is going to sound crazy but it was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it" she replies.

After we finish eating and I've fed Scarlett we clean up.

"Are we doing manicures then?" Caroline asks.

"My kit is in my bag" Bonnie says.

"I'll get it" Elena says, going to Bonnie's bag. She pulls out the crystal. "Bonnie?" she asks, holding it up.

"How did that get in there? I threw it away. You saw me"

"I did" Elena replies.

"That's creepy" I say.

"Emily" Bonnie says.

"Who?" Caroline asks.

"The ghost. She's called Emily. Why won't she leave me alone" she asks.

"I'm confused" Caroline says. "What is going on?"

"Caroline, I'm a witch."

"Yeah, errm, not sure I believe in all that woo woo stuff."

"It's true Caroline." she says, taking a candle from the cupboard and lighting it with magic.

"Oh wow" Caroline breathes. "What are going to do about the ghost? Séance?"

"I'll leave you girls to that, I need to get Scarlett to bed" I say, picking Scarlett up and heading upstairs.

I settle Scarlett into her crib for the night. Damon is going to come here later after his evening with Stefan. For all their fights and hate it is obvious they still love and need each other. I hope one day they can put the past behind them and actually start acting like brothers rather than trying to kill each other all the time.

I hear the girls go up to Elena's room. All is quiet for a while until I hear Elena calling out to see if Jeremy is home. The next thing I hear a door slam and Bonnie screaming from Elena and Jeremy's bathroom, then Elena and Caroline shouting for her. The lights flash on and off. I go out into Elena's room to see what's going on when the screaming stops, the door opens and Bonnie is stood there with her hands over her face.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Elena asks.

"I'm fine" Bonnie replies, removing her hands from her face.

"Unbelievable. You were totally faking it." Caroline scoffs.

"Caroline!" I exclaim.

"No! She scared the hell out of me!" Caroline exclaims and walks away.

"Bonnie?" I ask. I can sense something isn't right, but I don't understand what.

"I'm fine. Everything is fine" she replies.

"I can't believe I fell for it" Caroline says.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks Bonnie as she's walking down the hall towards the stairs.

"I must go" she replies.

"If she's leaving then I'm leaving" Caroline says.

"You guys can't leave" Elena says.

"I can. I've had enough freaky fake stuff for one night" Caroline says.

"Thank you for having me. I'll take it from here." Bonnie says and heads downstairs.

I suddenly realise what has happened.

"Where are you going Emily?" I ask.

She stops at the bottom of the stairs. "You're special Imogen. You just don't know it yet. I'm going back to where it all began" she says.

"Emily?" Elena calls as we follow her down the stairs.

"I can't let her have it. It must be destroyed." Emily says, then she leaves the house. Elena tries to open it but she can't. I can feel that Emily spelled it shut.

The door finally opens and Jeremy walks in.

"What the hell?" he asks.

"Scarlett is asleep upstairs. Keep an eye on her Jer" I call before leaving the house, pulling out my phone to call Damon.

"I'm outta here" I hear Caroline say, then she leaves. I hear Elena calling Stefan.

_"Hey babe"_ Damon says as he answers.

"Damon! Emily is possessing Bonnie. She said she won't let 'her' have the crystal and it must be destroyed. She's going back to where it all began"

_"Fell's Church. I'll meet you there. We need to make sure Bonnie doesn't get hurt"_ he says before hanging up. Elena and I head to the Church ruins.

* * *

We arrive and Stefan and Damon are already there.

"Hello Emily. You look different" Damon says.

"Hello Damon. I'm pleased you got over Katherine. Imogen is very special, make sure you look after her." Emily says as she stops walking.

"Don't worry, I will." he replies.

"Stefan" Emily says with a nod whilst drawing on the ground with a stick.

"Emily" he replies. "What are you doing?"

"I can't let her have it. These people don't deserve such evil"

"Who is she?" I ask.

"What do you mean evil?" Stefan asks.

"I won't let her unleash them into this world" Emily says.

"What do you mean them?" Elena asks.

"Everyone that was in the Church is in the tomb" Damon replies.

"With one comes all" Emily says.

"So you spent 145 years waiting to unleash 27 Vampires on Mystic Falls?" Stefan asks Damon.

"No, I spent 144 years waiting to get Katherine out. The rest I was going to leave. Then I met Imogen and now Katherine can rot for all I care" he replies.

"Who is 'she' Emily?" Elena asks.

"You will find out soon enough" Emily says to Elena. She turns to Damon. "Thank you for keeping your end of the deal and keeping my family safe all these years"

"A deal's a deal, and I will continue to honour it as far as I can" he replies.

"Incendia" Emily chants. The pentagram she has drawn on the ground sets on fire. She throws the necklace in the air and the crystal explodes. I see Emily leave Bonnie's body as the flames go out and then Bonnie is looking around wide eyed and scared.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Elena asks.

"What happened?" she asks.

_'We need to explain everything to her, Vampires included'_ I think to Damon.

_'Yes we do'_ he replies.

"We'll explain everything Bonnie, let's go to the Boarding House." I say.

She nods in response. I head to my house to get Scarlett before going to the boarding house to meet the others.

* * *

When I get home Jeremy is reading one of Johnathan Gilbert's journals. I know that journal will mention Vampires and the supernatural goings on from 1864. I decide he needs to know everything, especially since I never agreed with Elena having him compelled to forget Vicki.

"Jeremy, come with me." I say.

"Why?" he asks.

"There are some things you need to know" I reply. I get Scarlett in her car seat and meet Jeremy back in the hallway.

"Where are we going?" he asks.

"The Boarding House" I say. He nods and we head to my car.

When we arrive we go into the parlour. Damon, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie are already there. Damon takes Scarlett from me and settles her back to sleep in the pack and play.

"Why is Jeremy here? He shouldn't be involved in this." Elena says.

"He needs to know Elena. If we're going to protect him, he needs to know. Aunt Jenna too."

"No he doesn't" she growls.

"Yes, he does. Stop acting like a brat. Not everything is about you."

She huffs in response, but remains quiet. We all take seats.

"Jeremy needs to know about you, as well as what we're about to tell you." I say to Bonnie. She nods in acknowledgment.

"I'm a witch Jer." she tells him.

"Wait, what?" he says.

"A witch. I can do magic" she replies. I go to the kitchen and grab a candle.

"Show him" I say. Bonnie lights the candle.

"Cool" Jeremy says with a grin.

"It is pretty cool" I say. Elena scowls at me.

"Before we explain what tonight was about, I need to tell you both what Stefan and I are" Damon says. I put a hand on his thigh.

"We're Vampires" he says.

Bonnie looks scared.

""Vampires?" Jeremy asks. "I was just reading Johnathan Gilbert's journal when Imogen said I had to come here. I thought he was crazy, not telling the truth."

"They're real", I say. "And I promise you both that neither of these two will hurt you."

"How do we know that?" Bonnie asks.

"Because we know them" I say.

"Can I see?" Jeremy asks.

Damon rolls his eyes. "Just like Imz" he chuckles and lets his face vamp out.

"Awesome" Jeremy exclaims. Bonnie is still nervous. Damon let's his face return to normal.

We quickly run through what special abilities vampires have and how they can be killed. We also tell them about vervain and discover Bonnie can't be compelled, presumably because she's a witch that has come into her powers.

"So, about tonight Bonnie, what do you remember?" I ask.

"I remember going into the bathroom, then waking up in the forest." she replies.

"You were possessed by Emily" Elena says.

"Who's Emily?" Jeremy asks.

"My ancestor" Bonnie replies.

"As for you ending up in the woods, well it was to destroy the crystal" I say.

"Destroy it? Why?" Bonnie asks.

Damon speaks up.

"In 1864, this town was full of Vampires. Our ex, Katherine, was one of them. They weren't very careful, and so the original founder's council grew suspicious and eventually they rounded them up one night. There were 27 altogether, and they were trapped in Fell's Church, then it was set on fire" he says.

"1864? How old are you two?" Jeremy asks.

"Stefan just turned 162" Elena says.

"And I'm 170" explains Damon. "I've been 25 and Stefan has been 17 for 145 years"

"Who knew my sisters were into ancient men" Jeremy chuckles. I lightly slap him around the head.

"What does the church have to do with the crystal" Bonnie asks.

"When Katherine was captured I went to Emily as I knew she was a witch. I begged her to save Katherine, and she did, in exchange for me protecting her lineage. She knew they would come for her next, so she asked me to protect her children."

"Grams said the Bennett's have always had a guardian. I didn't know it was you" Bonnie says.

"Yep, all me little witch. I have looked out for the Bennett's since 1864. I saved your mother from being run over by a car when she was a kid. That was why I went to the old church tonight. I didn't think Emily would hurt you, but I wasn't taking any chances." Damon says.

"I remember you saving Emily's children" Stefan says. "Now it makes sense. You always keep your word."

"Thank you for looking out for me" Bonnie says.

"A vampire protector" Jeremy grins.

"Heh. I'm no protector, just keeping a deal" Damon says.

"Damon has quite the colourful past" Stefan says.

"And you don't?" I reply to him, raising an eyebrow. Stefan shuts up.

"So how did you become Vampires?" Jeremy asks.

"We were both in..uh...relations with Katherine" Stefan says. "She compelled us both not to tell the other. She played us both. She also fed us her blood. The night they rounded up the vampires Damon and I tried to save her. We were both shot dead by our own Father"

Elena and Bonnie both gasp. Jeremy sits with his mouth open in shock.

"Did you know this Imogen?" Elena asks.

"Yes, when Damon told me what he was he told me everything."

"I can't believe your own father killed you both."

"He wasn't a good father, at least not to me" Damon says bitterly. I take hold of his hand and squeeze it. He gives me a small smile.

"So what has the crystal got to do with all this?" says Bonnie.

"When Emily saved Katherine, she did so by sealing her in a tomb under the church. The crystal was the key to opening the tomb, however she drew power from the comet, so the tomb couldn't be opened until the comet came back around." Damon says.

"And she saved all of them, not just Katherine" Stefan says, referring to what Emily had said earlier.

"How are they still alive?" Elena asks.

"Vampires can't die, if we don't feed we dessicate." Stefan says. "All they need is some blood and they'll be up and about again"

"But we can't let that happen" Bonnie says.

"No we can't. Emily said she can't let 'her' have it. Who is she referring to?" Stefan replies.

"I wish I knew" Damon says. "Probably the other vampire that we know has been in town for weeks. Just need to find out who it is"

"So you spent 145 years waiting to get Katherine out of the tomb, why aren't you upset that you can't now?" Bonnie asks Damon.

_'We're going to have to explain'_ Damon thinks to me.

_'I know'_ I reply.

"I spent _144_ years waiting to get Katherine back. Then in September last year something happened"

"What was that, brother?"

"I met Imogen"

"You two only met a few months ago" Elena says.

"Actually that's not true, but I had been compelled to forget" I say. "And when I found out the truth I couldn't tell you because Stefan hadn't told you what he was yet"

"So what happened when you met?"

"It was the weekend I was in Columbus" I say. I watch their faces as the penny drops. They all know a one night stand that weekend was when I fell pregnant with Scarlett.

"We were both at the same party. The moment our eyes met across the room something inside me shifted. My humanity switch which had been firmly off for 50 years flipped to the on position. I went outside to escape and Imogen ended up out there too."

"I just felt this pull towards him. I can't explain it, but something drew me to him. We kissed and it was amazing. It was as though electric shocks were going through me everywhere he touched me."

"For me too. Still happens now"

"I know" I say, smiling at him. "One thing led to another and we slept together."

"And I panicked because my humanity had been flipped back on and I'm not very good with feelings. I compelled her to forget until I wanted her to remember"

"Wait, so Damon was your one night stand? He's Scarlett's dad?!" Jeremy asks.

"Not possible, vampires can't procreate" Stefan scoffs.

"That's what I thought baby bro, and we still don't really understand how it happened, but look at her. She has my black hair and blue eyes" Damon says, nodding his head towards where Scarlett is sleeping.

"And before that night there was no one for 3 months. And there was no one after, until Damon again" I say.

"We do know that the trigger was blood sharing at the same time during sex" Damon says, and I blush. "But what that triggered we have yet to work out."

"We do know that we have a soulmate bond though. Damon had Emily's crystal, and because he no longer wanted to release Katherine from the tomb he decided it needed to go back to the Bennett family, so we took it to Grams. She said we have a soulmate bond, she could sense it, but she didn't know anything about it. We've been looking for information for weeks but not come up with much"

"This is all so much to take in" says Bonnie. "Now you've said about it I can feel there is a bond between you two."

"I know Bon, but it all needed to be told. All this keeping things secret wasn't helping anyone"

"So, um, the deaths recently, were they you two?" Bonnie asks looking between Damon and Stefan.

"Tanner was my doing. He was going to rape Imz. I'm a little over protective" Damon says with a shrug.

"The others were another vampire. We just haven't figured out who that was." I say.

Bonnie and Jeremy both nod. "I can understand you protecting her" Bonnie says to Damon with a smile.

"There's one more thing that needs to be shared. This piece of information Stefan needs to tell as he should have told Elena long ago" I say, giving Stefan a pointed look.

"Err, no there's not" Stefan says.

"Either you say it or I will" I say.

"You wouldn't"

"She would Stef" Damon says.

"Umm... it's about Katherine. Elena looks like her" he says.

"Not just looks like her. She's literally identical" I say.

"And you're only just telling me this now?!" Elena screeches.

"How could you not tell me Stefan? Didn't you learn anything after you kept being a Vampire from me? I can handle these things but I HATE being lied to!" she shouts before storming out. Stefan goes after her.

"Get the picture Damon" he nods and vamps upstairs. When he gets back he shows Bonnie and Jeremy.

"Wow, she literally could be Elena" Jeremy says.

"How can it be? Bonnie asks.

"I don't know. Another thing to add to the research list" Damon says.

I have something else I need to explain to you both. They nod at me.

"This other Vampire that is in town turned Vicki Donovan into a vampire." I say.

"She left town didn't she?" Jeremy asks.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry Jer. She didn't. Do you remember when she was at our house acting all weird that day before she disappeared and you thought she had taken something?"

He nods in response.

"She wasn't on drugs, she was in transition. At the school Halloween party she attacked you and Elena. Stefan killed her to stop her. Then you were so upset Elena asked Damon to compel you to forget."

"Vicki's dead?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm sorry" I say.

"I can't believe Elena had me compelled. I still felt sad, I just didn't know why" he says. I go over and hug him.

"I'm sorry Jer. I didn't want her to do it, but you know what she can be like. I'd had a really crappy day and I just didn't have the energy to argue with her.

"I can undo the compulsion so you remember" Damon says.

""Please"

Damon walks over to him, catches his eyes and compels him to remember. Tears appear in his eyes and I hug him tighter. After a few minutes he calms down.

"Thank you for telling me then truth about everything Immy. I'm so mad with Elena though."

"I understand. We should probably get you both home" I say.

"Are you staying here?" Damon asks.

I nod in response.

"I'll take these two home. You take Scarlett to her room. I won't be long."

"You can drop me off with Jeremy. My things are there and I think Elena will need a friend after the Katherine bombshell" Bonnie says.

They leave after we say our goodbyes. I take Scarlett up to her room before going to Damon's room and getting ready for bed.

Damon comes back a little while later and we both climb into bed.

"What a night" I sigh.

"It was certainly... interesting" Damon replies, playing with my hair.

"I need to tell Jenna everything next. Keeping everything a secret will only put her in harm's way as she won't know what to look out for. What if Katherine shows up and gets invited in because she thinks she's Elena?"

"I know Imz. I agree, she needs to know."

I rest my head on his chest and wrap an arm around his waist. I soon fall asleep, exhausted from the day.

* * *

**December 1st 2009, Mystic Fall, Virginia**

We wake up the next morning to Scarlett shouting in her room. I groan and bury my face in Damon's chest. He chuckles.

"One of us should go get her" he says.

I sigh and get out of bed. I go and get her then bring her back to bed to feed her. I love mornings like this when the 3 of us can be like a 'normal' family.

Damon is laid on his side with his head propped on his hand, smiling at us.

"What's that face for?" I ask.

"What face?" he asks.

"That face"

"I'm happy" he says with a smile.

"I am too" I reply. He leans up to kiss me.

When Scarlett has finished feeding we get dressed and head downstairs into the kitchen. I put her in her high chair and give her some breakfast whilst Damon makes us coffee and pancakes.

We're just finishing up when the doorbell rings. Stefan answers it.

"It's the Sheriff, she wants me" Damon says and heads to the door.

I hear him lead the Sheriff through the house to the back yard. I take Imogen into the parlour where Stefan is sitting.

"Are you listening?" I ask. He nods in response.

"There's been another attack, female victim. The Sheriff wants Damon's help as he's the only one who's actually taken on a vampire."

"Asking a vampire for help with a vampire problem, how ironic" I say.

Damon and the Sheriff come back in and Damon lets her out the front door.

"Thank you for stopping by" he says.

"Let me know what you come up with" she replies.

"Absolutely"

As soon as Damon shuts the door Stefan zooms over and pins Damon up against the door by his shirt.

"Stefan!" I exclaim.

"What is wrong with you? You killed somebody? Stefan growls.

"Get off of me." Damon says, pushing Stefan off him. "A...don't touch me. B...if I had, I wouldn't have been so obvious about it. C...There's another vampire in town."

"So you say."

"You know it's true Stefan. We need to find our who this other vampire is" I say.

"Who could it be?" Stefan asks.

"Let the adults handle this" Damon says to Stefan, walking over to me and taking Scarlett from me.

"Think you can drop Scarlett at daycare and help me out? he asks me.

"Sure." I reply.

* * *

After I've dropped Scarlett at daycare I meet Damon. He hands me what looks like an old pocket watch.

"This is a compass that points to vampires. I want you to wander round town, and hopefully it will lead us to our mystery vampire" Damon says.

"And I need to do it because you interfere with the signal" I chuckle.

"Got it in one" he replies.

"I'll call you if I find anything" I say.

"I'll be tracking you from far enough away to not interfere, but close enough to be with you in a minute if you need help" he says, resting his forehead on mine.

"I'll be fine" I say and close the gap between our lips before pulling away and wandering off.

I'm barely a minute down the road when my phone rings.

"Miss me already" I ask as I answer.

_"Just want to make sure you're safe"_ We talk as I wander round, waiting for the compass to point to a vampire. I'm near a warehouse when the pointer starts moving erratically.

"I'm at a warehouse, the compass is pointing to it" I say.

_"I'll be there in a minute"_ he says, hanging up.

"Boo" I hear from behind. I jump and spin round!

"Damon! You scared me!" I exclaim. He chuckles.

"Go home, I got this" he says.

"No, I'm coming with you."

"You're not. I don't who is in there. There could be more than one. I might not be able to protect you" he says, cupping my face with his hands and resting his forehead on mine. "I can't let you get hurt Imz"

"What if I stay out here?" I ask.

He sighs. "Fine. But don't come in" he says before giving me a quick kiss and heading into the warehouse.

A couple of minutes later I hear gun shots and I panic.

_'DAMON!'_ I shout in my head.

_'I'm okay. It's Logan Fell. He has wooden bullets. I'll be fine, but please stay out there or go home'_

_'I'm staying out here, I'm not leaving you'_ I reply.

_'You can be so stubborn!'_

_'Gilbert family trait'_

I'm pacing around outside. It's getting dark now, and Damon is still inside. I haven't heard any more gun shots and I can feel he's in pain so I know he's still alive.

All of a sudden I hear more gun shots.

_'He's leaving, hide!'_ I hear from Damon. I quickly hide just as Logan leaves the building. As soon as he's out of sight I run in and find Damon who is covered in blood and is digging bullets out of himself.

"Oh my god!" I cry. I help him with the bullets.

"I'm okay" he rasps.

"You need blood" I say.

"Come on let's get out of here." he says. I help him up and lead him to my car. We pick up Scarlett and head to the boarding house where Damon grabs a couple of blood bags and gets changed. He calls Stefan whilst he changes and finds out Logan is at the school.

"Stay here with Scarlett. I won't be long" he says.

I get Scarlett fed and changed and put her to bed. I'm just settling down in Damon's bed when my phone rings.

_"We're going on a road trip, pack a bag for the 3 of us"_ Damon says.

"Where are we going?"

_"To finally get some answers"_ he replies, then hangs up.

I quickly pack a bag for the 3 of us and have just finished getting dressed when Damon arrives back.

"What happened with Logan?"

"He took Caroline from the school. Stefan and I went after him. Stefan took Caroline home and I was about to kill Logan when he said he would tell me who turned him if I met him at the old church. I went to wait for him then got a call from the Sheriff thanking me for killing him."

"So we still don't know who this other vampire is?" I sigh.

"Nope" he replies.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Road trip. Got in contact with an old friend, she says she can give us answers. Come on, let's go" he says, picking up the bags I packed. I grab Scarlett and we head out to his Camaro.


	12. Are You Ready Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road trip part 1. We're heading way off the storyline. Hope you like it and the answers we finally get. I promise there are more answers to come!
> 
> I don't anything TVD related.

**December 2nd 2009, On the road, Georgia**

**Song: Are you ready?; Disturbed**

_Are you ready?_

_They aren't ready for you to be strong_

_Are you ready?_

_They aren't ready for you to prove them wrong_

_Are you ready?_

_They aren't ready for you to be turned into someone_

_Who cannot be preyed upon_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up in the passenger seat of Damon's car.

"Morning beautiful" Damon says, smiling over at me.

"Morning" I grumble, trying to stretch out the aches from sleeping in the car. "Where are we?"

"Georgia" he replies, with a smirk.

"You need to pull over" I say as Scarlett starts crying from the back. He pulls over and I take her out of her seat. I change her and sit in the passenger seat so I can feed her.

"We're almost there" Damon says.

"Where is there?" I ask.

"A little place right outside of Atlanta"

I nod in response. Scarlett is finished feeding so I get her back in her car seat and we head off again.

* * *

A while later we pull up outside a bar. The sign outside says 'Bree's Bar'.

"You brought us to a bar? They're not going to let us in with a baby" I say.

"Sure they will" Damon replies, grabbing Scarlett from the back seat and inclining his head for me to follow.

We walk in and the tall dark skinned woman behind the bar looks up and sees us.

"No. No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie." she says, swinging her legs over the bar and heading towards us. I raise my eyebrow.

She goes to kiss Damon but he stops her. "Bree, this is Imogen"

Bree looks at me for a few seconds before heading back to the bar. She sets out shot glasses and fills them as we take seats at the bar, with Scarlett in her seat between us.

"Listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness! Drink up!" she shouts. I look at Damon with a raised eyebrow. He responds with a smirk and we down our shots.

"So, how'd he rope you in?" she asks me, pouring more shots.

"I'm not roped, we're dating" I reply.

"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride" Bree says with a smile.

"So, how did you two meet?" I ask.

"College" Bree replies.

"You went to college?" I ask Damon. We've talked about some parts of his past, but he's never mentioned college.

"I've been on a college campus, yes" he replies with a smirk. I roll my eyes.

"About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody." Bree tells me.

"She's a witch" Damon whispers to me.

"Changed my world you know" Bree says to Damon.

"I rocked your world" Damon replies with a smirk.

"He's good in the sack isn't he?" Bree says to me.

"Yup" I reply with a smirk aimed at Damon. He has rocked my world at least once a night since we slept together the first time and it is always amazing.

"But mostly he's just a walk-away Joe" Bree says, walking away. Someone seems a little bitter.

"Not anymore" Damon calls out, resting his hand on my thigh.

"So, what is it that you want?" she asks when she returns.

"I need to know if there's another way to get in the tomb" Damon tells her.

"After all these years it's still only Katherine. How do you even know she's still alive?" Bree asks.

"I don't know if she is, and I don't care." he says, looking at me with a smile. Bree notices the look he gives me.

"You don't care if she's alive?" she asks.

"Nope. I do need to know if there is another way to get in that tomb though. I believe there is someone else who wants it open and I can't have a bunch of starving vampires eating the town." he replies.

"Emily's grimoire. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book." she tells him.

"So as long as I can find the grimoire and make sure no one else gets it I can keep my girls safe." he says, relieved.

I take Scarlett out of her car seat and sit her on my knee. Bree looks at her.

"The baby, she's yours?" Bree asks, taking note of Scarlett's black hair and blue eyes.

"Yep, she's his. And we were hoping you might have some answers for us since vampires can't procreate."

"Hmmm" she hums. "I'll be back in a little while" she says, disappearing.

I look at Damon and raise an eyebrow. He shrugs in response.

We order some food and I feed Scarlett.

"You know, I don't think I've ever asked her full name" Damon says.

"You haven't. It's Scarlett Miranda Lily Gilbert. Though I guess it should be Salvatore now"

"Why Miranda Lily?" he asks.

"Miranda was my Mom's name. Lily popped in my head whilst I was pregnant and I just knew it had to be in her name". Damon gives me an odd look.

"What's with the look?" I ask.

"My mother's name was Lily" he says.

"Oh!" I say, hugging him. Scarlett reaches up and puts her hand on his cheek. "You miss her"

"I do" he replies. "I love how our daughter has her name though" I smile in response and Bree reappears carrying a book.

"This should explain everything" she says, handing it to me. As I take it our hands touch and her eyes grow wide. "You're a Jacobs witch" she gasps.

"A what?" I ask, confused.

"A witch, from the Jacobs bloodline." she replies.

"No, I'm a Gilbert" I say.

"Honey I'm a witch, I can sense other supernaturals, and you are most definitely a Jacobs witch."

"She's a witch? She can't do any magic though" Damon says.

"She needs to learn how to do magic" Bree replies. "Jacobs witches come into their powers on their 16th Birthday but they need to learn how to use them or they just remain dormant"

I just sit there, confused. Bree suddenly seems to remember something.

"I had a visit from a Jacobs witch many years ago. She said that she had a vision that in the future an untrained Jacobs witch would come to me and need my help. She left me a bunch of grimoires to give to her" she says. "I'll be back" and she disappears again.

I look at Damon. "How can I be a witch?" I ask him. He shrugs.

"I have no idea, but if you really are a Jacobs witch then you must have been adopted."

"Adopted?" I say. He nods. I sigh and look down at the book Bree gave me. 'Soulmate Bonds and Blood Bonds' I see is the title.

Bree reappears and hands me a box of books.

"These are the Jacobs grimoires" she says. I just look at her, feeling rather overwhelmed.

"Overwhelmed?" she asks, as Damon wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me towards him. I nod in response and Scarlett bats at the book on the bar in front of us.

"If you can stay a few days I can teach you the basics" she says. I look at Damon and he nods.

"We can get a hotel" he says with a smile.

"What about clothes, wipes, diapers and baby food?" I ask. "I only packed enough for 1 night for us all."

"We can go shopping" he replies with a chuckle. I nod.

"Okay. I think I need a bit of time to get my head around everything though. Can we start tomorrow?" I ask Bree.

"Of course" she replies with a smile. My initial dislike of her as she tried to kiss Damon when we arrived has gone, and I think I could actually become friends with the dark skinned witch.

"Shall I put these in the car?" Damon asks, gesturing towards the box.

"Please" I reply. He picks them up and heads out, before coming back a couple of minutes later.

"How about we go shopping then find a hotel" he asks me. I nod in response. We finish our drinks.

"We'll be back tomorrow, Bree" I call out to her.

"See you both tomorrow" she replies.

"Bye Bree" Damon says. We head out to the car and to a nearby mall. I take Scarlett out of the car and settle her in her stroller.

We buy some clothes for all 3 of us to last a few days and stock up on diapers, wipes and baby food before heading to find a hotel.

We pull up to a Hilton hotel and once inside Damon checks us in to a luxury suite for the week. I gaze around in awe; I've never stayed in a 5* hotel before. Damon chuckles at my expression.

"Come on" he says, taking Scarlett from me and resting a hand on my lower back to lead me to the elevator. We arrive at the suite and he unlocks the door. As we enter I look around. We're in a living room area with a corner sofa, massive TV on the wall, and doors that open up onto a balcony. I go through a door and find the bedroom, with a massive bed, and another balcony. I find the bathroom, which has a massive spa bath and huge shower cubicle.

"This is amazing" I say, heading back out to the living room where Damon is settling Scarlett on the rug to play with her toys.

"Well if we're staying a while we need to be comfortable" he says with a shrug.

I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck. His arms automatically go around my waist.

"Thank you" I say, giving him a peck on the lips.

"I'd do anything for you two, you know that" he replies and kisses me. We break apart when there is a knock on the door. Damon opens it to find it's the concierge with our bags and a crib for Scarlett.

We quickly unpack and decide to order room service. Spending the night in the car means we're all tired. After we eat and Scarlett is bathed Damon puts her to bed and I take out the soul mate bond book that Bree gave to me. I open it up and start to read.

'Soulmates are two people who are drawn to each other because their souls match; they are each one half of a whole, like puzzle pieces and together they complete each other. The love between soulmates is ancient and powerful, and one soulmates meet they form an unbreakable soulmate bond. This bond means many things, but in short it ties the two together for eternity. They will never love another romantically, and if one soulmate dies the other will struggle to survive without them.'

I gulp as I'm reading, just as Damon comes in and pours himself a drink from the mini bar. He also pulls out a blood bag from the cooler he brought with us.

"Want anything?" he says.

"Please, can I have a coke?"

He nods in response and gets me a coke, then comes to sit with me.

"What's up?" he asks, feeling my unease through our blood bond. I show him what I've just read.

"So we have an unbreakable bond" he shrugs.

"It's the last part that makes me nervous. About struggling to survive if anything happens. I kind of knew that anyway because of how I feel about you, but it's different seeing it actually written down."

Damon wraps his arms around me and kisses my head. "It makes me nervous too, but we'll just have to make sure nothing happens to either of us, especially you until you turn."

"I love you so much" I sigh.

"I love you" he replies.

We carry on reading the book and find things we already know. The soulmate bond links us so we can feel if the other is in danger. It draws us together so we don't want to be apart. The emotional connection is powerful and makes sex incredible. It will ensure if one (or both) of the soulmates are vampires they retain their humanity (which is why Damon's turned back on when we met and he can't turn it off again).

We then find what we needed to know about Scarlett.

'If one or both of the soulmate pair are vampires they can still procreate. For this to happen they have to exchange blood **_at the same time_** during sex. Blood sharing during sex but at different times will not result in a pregnancy, it has to be at the same time.

Any pregnancy will be a normal human pregnancy, and the baby will develop as a normal human. Once born the baby will continue to develop as a normal human, however they will be part Vampire. As the child reaches the teenage years they will start to need human blood along with human food to survive.

The child will continue to age normally until they turn 21. They will be able to procreate as a normal human. They are immortal from birth, except for the usual ways that can kill a vampire, however if they do die they will come back as a full vampire. If they die as a full vampire they will not come back. They cannot be compelled, even by an Original vampire in either human/part vampire or full Vampire form.

If the child is born of a witch and a Vampire the child will inherit the witch traits as normal, and would also retain these if they die and become a full Vampire, thus becoming a Vampire/witch hybrid. This is not to be confused with a heretic which is where a siphon witch is turned into a Vampire and is able to siphon the vampire magic to cast spells.'

We both look at each other for several long moments.

"She's immortal" I say.

"Yep" Damon replies.

"That makes me the most vulnerable out of the 3 of us" I chuckle.

"I won't let anything happen to you" he says, tightening his embrace slightly. "Although it might be an idea for you to have my blood every day in case something does happen, that way we know you'll come back. I know you don't want to turn until you're 21, but just in case. I can't lose you."

"I can't lose you either" I reply. "I think that is a good idea though. Just as a failsafe."

Damon nods and bites into his wrist before holding it out to me. I take hold and drink from him. As usual I feel the blood bond strengthen between us. I let go after a few mouthfuls then I tilt my head to the side so Damon can drink from me. He also pulls away after a few mouthfuls and looks at me with lust filled eyes.

"Let's go to bed" he says, doing the eye thing. I nod and he leads me to the bedroom.


	13. Let Me Be Your Superhero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road Trip part 2. We'll be back to following the shows storyline from the next chapter.
> 
> The reason for the Damon revelation in his chapter is so he can have more powers, like in the books, but the rest if the Vampires don't, except maybe Stefan in the future w

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the UK and a child in my daughter's year at school received a positive test for Covid, so I have her off school for the next 2 weeks as she has to isolate. That means that once I finish work I have to play teacher. This may mean I won't be able to update as much as I have been, but hopefully I will still be able to write in the evenings.

**December 3rd, 2009, Atlanta, Georgia**

**Song: Let Me Be Your Superhero; Smash into Pieces**

_Let me be your superhero_

_Let me be the one to hold you_

_Let me be your superhero_

_Your dynamite_

_Let me be the one to hold you_

_To do you right_

**Damon's POV**

I wake early the next morning, with Imogen wrapped in my arms as normal. I try to remember the last time we spent a night apart, and I realise that we haven't since the night I told her everything, when she asked me to stay overnight at her house after dinner. I sigh in content. This is my happy place.

I had truly thought I was in love with Katherine in 1864, and I spent 144 years just existing, waiting to get her back. Ever since Imogen came into my life I've realised that what I felt for Katherine wasn't really love, it was just infatuation. If I was to ever see her again I think I would probably stake her for destroying the bond between my brother and I.

I had always wanted a family when I was human. It's one of the main reasons for my biggest secret; I miss being human. Or at least I did. I've realised over the last couple of months of really getting to know Imogen and Scarlett, of spending time together as a family, that I have everything I ever wanted. I have a beautiful woman who I love with everything I have, and who loves me back, every part of me. I have a gorgeous daughter who I love and adore, and after reading the book Bree gave us and knowing we can have more children, even if Imogen becomes a Vampire, I truly think life is just about perfect. As a Vampire I can protect them both far better than I could as a human.

Despite missing being human, I do like being a Vampire, and with Scarlett being part Vampire and Imogen happy to turn it's not as lonely anymore, knowing that neither of them are going to grow old and die. Perhaps the last 145 years wouldn't have been so lonely if I hadn't made it my life's work to make Stefan's existence a misery, but I did make him a promise and I am a man of my word.

I turn my mind to the other revelation from yesterday; Imogen is a witch. And not just any witch, a Jacobs witch. I've heard of them, and know that they are a very powerful bloodline, stronger even than the Bennett witches. I don't know much more than that though. Hopefully Bree and the grimoires will provide more answers.

I think back to how I was able to compel her, then realise that she didn't know she was a witch so her powers were dormant, which is why I was able to.

I check the time and realise it's still early. I can hear Scarlett's breathing and heartbeat and know she's still in a deep sleep so I pull Imogen a little closer and bury my nose in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent and drift back to sleep.

* * *

We wake up a couple of hours later to Scarlett shouting from her crib.

"Nooo" I mumble as Imogen tries to get out of my embrace. She chuckles at me.

"I need to get her before she wakes the entire hotel up." I sigh and let her get up. She changes Scarlett's diaper and brings her into bed with us. I take the opportunity to wrap them both in my arms and sigh in content.

Scarlett is babbling at us and we both smile at her. It doesn't take long for her to get grumpy because she's hungry so Imogen adjusts her top and starts to feed her. After only a couple of minutes she cries out in pain.

"Ouch!"

"What's the matter?" I ask as she puts a finger in Scarlett's mouth.

"It's a tooth. She's got her first tooth" Imogen says.

I look and sure enough there's a tiny tooth poking out of Scarlett's bottom gum. I grin like a mad man. I love being around for the 'firsts'.

After Imogen finishes feeding Scarlett we get dressed and get breakfast before heading back to Bree's bar.

"Hi Bree" Imogen says as we approach the bar.

"Good morning" Bree responds with a smile. "You feeling less overwhelmed today?"

"I am. A good night's sleep certainly helped as well"

"I'm pleased."

Bree gets us drinks before leading us to a quiet booth at the back of the bar.

"Have you read any of the grimoires?" she asks Imogen.

"Not yet, we were reading the book on soulmate bonds"

"Did you get the answers you were looking for?"

"We did" I reply.

"I'm pleased. I can feel the bond between you. It is extremely strong. I've met a few couples with a soulmate bond over the years, but never one as strong as yours. You will feel extremely protective of each other."

"We already do" Imogen says. Bree nods.

"Firstly, Jacobs witches are extremely powerful. The Jacobs bloodline is even stronger than the Bennett bloodline, which is descended from Qetsiyah, one of the most powerful witches around 2000 years ago.

Most witches only have access to one source of power. New Orleans witches have ancestral magic, Bennett witches have spirit magic. Then there are Elemental witches, which can control the elements of earth, water, fire and wind, and Empaths, witches whose source of power comes from emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more power they can draw."

"Wow, there's a lot more to this witch thing than I thought. I figured you'd teach me how to light a candle with my mind or float feathers like Bonnie can and I'd be on my way." Imogen says.

I chuckle. "There's a lot more to the supernatural world than you know about. Remember, it's only been a couple of months since I told you about me" I say. Scarlett is sat on my knee playing with some toys on the table so that Imogen and Bree can talk.

"Yes there is, but the reason for my story is that Jacobs witches don't just have access to one source of power, they have access to all sources. They are also the only bloodline that will retain their magic if turned into a Vampire, and their powers become strengthened because of the heightened emotions associated with Vampirism."

I sit there shocked and watch Imogen take in what Bree has said. I knew Jacobs witches were powerful but damn!

"One more thing" Bree says. "You are descended from another powerful witch, Silas" she says to me. I look at her puzzled.

"It's distant, on your paternal side, and you obviously weren't aware from the look on your face, but it is likely that as a human had you had training you could have done some magic. I looked into it after I first met you because of what you can do with the fog and the crow. Those are not normal Vampire tricks, but you can do them because of your ancestry. It is likely you can do other things you aren't aware of yet."

"Why can't Stefan do any of those things?"

"Is he still on animal blood?" Bree asks. I nod in response. "That is why. He's probably also never tried."

"So Damon is also part witch?" Imogen asks.

"Yes, but he's not a hybrid like you would be and Scarlett is. He just has some enhanced abilities that other Vampires don't have.

The reason for telling you this is that Scarlett, as a descendant of Silas and the Jacobs bloodline, is going to be one of the most powerful witches to be seen for centuries. She will be sought after by many who wish to use her for her powers. You must be extremely careful who finds out what she is."

Both Imogen and I nod and I squeeze Scarlett a little in my arms. She carries on playing with her toys, oblivious to the fact she is is an all powerful hybrid.

"I assume it would be the same for any other children we have?" Imogen asks. Bree nods in response.

"I will protect you, Scarlett and any future children with my life" I tell her and reach over to give her a kiss on the head.

"The bond has changed you" Bree says with a smile.

"Can you tell Lexi that? She doesn't believe it and thinks I'm just using Imogen as a walking blood bag." I say.

Bree chuckles. "You built your reputation Damon, but I will talk to her" she says.

Bree then talks to Imogen about how to channel the various sources of magic and teaches her a few things such as lighting candles with her mind. I kept Scarlett occupied, playing with her and rocking her to sleep when she was tired.

A few hours later we said our goodbyes to Bree and went to get dinner.

"How are you feeling about everything?" I ask Imogen once we're settled at a table with Scarlett in a high chair.

"A little overwhelmed still, but good. I can feel the powers now Bree has taught me a few things, it's the strangest feeling. I'm worried about Scarlett though and what will happen in the future if people come after her."

"Hey" I say, reaching over the table and taking her hand. I can feel the power flowing through her now, which I'm assuming is because her powers have been awakened. "We will protect her. I'm sure Bree will know some protection spells, and you have those grimoires to go through too. We won't let anything happen to her"

She smiles at me and nods.

"We won't, you're right. We can talk to Bree tomorrow and see what spells she knows and I will look through the grimoires too."

We eat and head back to the hotel. We get Scarlett fed, changed and settled in the crib for the night, then head into the living area. I get a blood bag and some drinks for us both and we settle on the sofa to read through the grimoires. We don't get far before I decide I'd rather do something else and I start to kiss her neck.

"Damon" she moans at me. I can feel she wants this as much as I do. We're both pretty insatiable. Whether it's who we are, or because of the soulmate bond I don't know. I don't really care either if I'm honest. I just know we're perfect for each other. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle in every way possible.

Imogen puts the grimoire she was looking at on the table and moves to straddle me as I sit on the sofa. I cup her face and bring her lips down to meet mine in a slow and sensual kiss before standing up, wrapping her legs around my waist and heading to the bedroom to make love to my beautiful girlfriend.

* * *

**December 7th 2009, Atlanta, Georgia**

**Imogen's POV**

The last few days have been busy. I've spent time at the bar with Bree learning how to use my magic. Damon has been spending a lot of time with Scarlett and it makes my heart melt to see him with her. Things have also been busy in Mystic Falls. Elena crashed her car after coming across a Vampire in the road. Stefan saved her. Apparently that's his thing as it also turns out Stefan rescued Elena from the crash with our parents. Our Dad made him save Elena first and when he went back for our parents it was too late.

He has also told Elena she is adopted. I haven't told her my news, we've just told everyone we're having family time away. When he saved her from the crash he realised she looked like Katherine and he spent the summer stalking her to make sure she wasn't Katherine. He then decided to go to school to meet her officially when the new school year started in September. He had researched how she looks like Katherine when she was a Pierce and Elena is a Gilbert and he found she was adopted as there is no record of our Mom being pregnant. Jenna also confirmed it.

The man Elena hit with her car also called her last night. I'm worried about her so we are heading home today so she has more protection.

Stefan has given her a bunch of vervain jewellery and vervain that she can give to friends and family to keep them safe from the mystery Vampires in town.

I've really enjoyed our few days away. It's been so nice to spend time with Damon and Scarlett without everyone else around and without the drama of Mystic Falls.

I've grown really friendly with Bree and we've exchanged numbers so if I need help with magic I can call her. She even talked to Lexi about how Damon has changed, and she came to the bar last night with her boyfriend Lee and we had a couple of drinks. We actually had a good time so hopefully there will be less animosity between Damon and Lexi from now on. I learned that whilst Lexi is Stefan's best friend she is also the one that has helped him in the past when he has gone off the rails on human blood. I've exchanged numbers with her too in case Stefan ever needs her.

We're packing up our things in the hotel when Damon comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me.

"I'm going to miss being with you every minute of the day" he says as he nuzzles into my neck.

"Me too. It's been amazing spending time together as a family without the Mystic Falls drama" I sigh.

"A family. I like that" he mutters in my ear.

"It's what we are, isn't? The three of us, our own little family."

"Yes, we are." he agrees.

We finish packing and check out. Once everything is packed in the car we start on our journey home.

* * *

We arrive back at the boarding house that evening and head straight upstairs to put Scarlett to bed. Stefan appears as we reach the top of the stairs.

"Where have you been?" Stefan asks.

"Georgia" Damon replies.

"What were you doing?" he asks.

"What are you, his mother?" I ask. Damon chuckles.

"Like we've already told you, we decided to have a few days away from the drama of Mystic Falls. Time that was cut short to come back to make sure Elena's stalker doesn't hurt her." Damon replies, walking past him to Scarlett's room.

Stefan grabs my arm to stop me.

"What were you really doing in Georgia?" he asks. I roll my eyes.

"Family bonding, Stefan. Just the 3 of us." I reply. Damon and I talked on the way home and have decided to try and keep our findings about Scarlett quiet until I'm more confident in my abilities. I would like to be able to cast a spell I saw in one of the grimoires that will prevent whoever it is cast on from sharing the secret.

Bree helped me a lot, and she cast some protection spells on the 3 of us, and also taught me a cloaking spell which I picked up easily. I'm going to see Grams and see if she will help train me some more. We will let everyone know I'm a witch, but I want to speak to Jenna, Elena and Jeremy about it first before telling anyone else.

"I'm not sure I believe that is all it was. I know you went to see Bree and met up with Lexi and Lee." he replies.

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you." I reply, and head into Scarlett's room so I can feed her before she goes to sleep.

"You hear that?" I ask Damon.

"I did" he replies.

I quietly cast a silencing spell over the room which will prevent Stefan from hearing us talking.

"We can speak now" I say. Damon grins.

"He must have spoken to Lexi. That's how he knows we were at Bree's."

"That explains his questions. I'm not telling him anything until I've spoken to my family. They deserve to know I'm adopted before the rest of Mystic Falls does, and Jenna may know something."

"I agree" he replies, kissing me on the head and taking Scarlett from me who has fallen asleep. I fix my top and I reverse the silencing spell so we will hear Scarlett if she wakes up. We head into Damon's room where I cast the silencing spell again. Damon goes and brings our bags upstairs along with the box of books.

"I'll leave those here, for now at least. I'm going to tell Jenna about the supernatural soon, but in the meantime I don't need her finding witches cookbooks and thinking I've gone crazy." Damon chuckles at me.

"It's fine, half your clothes are already here, what's a few spell books."

We get changed and get in bed. Damon wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his chest.

"Imz?" Damon says.

"Yes Damon?"

"You should just move in here. You and Scarlett are here most of the time anyway. We could put the house in your name since Zach has moved away so only you can invite a certain type of person in."

"Is that your way of saying you want us to move in?" I ask, shifting to look up at him.

"Yes it is" he replies.

"Then yes, we will. I hate being away from you."

"And I hate being away from you."

He kisses me softly and we both drift off to sleep.


	14. We Don't Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter starts with smut. You've been warned!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking about future relationships as I should probably work out who will be with who due to the soulmate thing.
> 
> Who do you want to see?
> 
> Will Elena stay with Stefan or find someone else (obviously not Damon)?
> 
> Will Caroline end up with Klaus or Stefan?
> 
> Will Ric end up with Jenna or Jo?
> 
> What about Bonnie, Matt and Tyler?
> 
> I'm thinking that I will follow the plot up to season 6, perhaps some of season 7 (Lily and the heretics, not sure about Rayna Cruz and the Phoenix Stone and I'm probably not going to do the whole sirens, Cade and Hell thing. I'm thinking there may need to be crossovers with The Originals (Freya and Imogen working together!) and no doubt in the future Scarlett and any other kid will end up at the Salvatore school.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts.

**December 8th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Don't Stop; Nothing More**

_Like a shotgun in a fist fight_

_Like a murder in the daylight_

_I'm the poison in the lead pipes_

_Open me up and watch the dogs fight, dogs fight_

**Imogen's POV**

When I woke the next morning I rolled over to look at the beautiful man who had his arms wrapped around me. He holds me so tightly every night I wonder if it's because he's scared I'll disappear.

"You're staring" he says, eyes still shut.

"Just admiring the view" I chuckle.

He opens his eyes and his icy blue eyes meet mine, making my insides melt. He shifts closer and I can feel his morning erection against my thigh. We start kissing, slowly and sensually. I run my tongue along the seam of his lips, asking for entry which he grants. We explore each others mouths whilst his hands reach down to the hem of my top. He breaks the kiss so he can take it over my head and throws it across the room before removing my shorts. I reach down and slide his boxer briefs over his hips and down his legs, and he kicks them off.

I hook a leg over his hip so his cock is positioned at my entrance. He pulls me closer, sliding inside. We both stay still for several long moments, enjoying the feeling of being connected. We start kissing again and he starts gently rocking against me, slowly moving in and out. We continue like that for several minutes, just enjoying lazy kisses and being connected. Damon's hands run up and down my back gently, and my hands are buried in his hair, gently scraping his scalp.

He starts to pick up the pace a little and moves one hand to my breasts, gently rubbing my nipples. I groan in response and I can feel the heat pooling as my climax starts to build. He continues moving, driving me closer until I fall over the edge. My walls clench around him, dragging him with me. We ride out our releases together and then he rests his forehead against mine.

"Now that is an amazing way to say good morning" he grins.

"Uh-huh" I mumble, too sated to be coherent. Lazy morning sex and being brought slowly to climax makes for a very powerful orgasm. He chuckles at me.

We lie in each others arms for a few more minutes before we hear Scarlett over the monitor.

"I'll go and get her" he says, pulling out of me and climbing out of bed. I grumble at the loss. He bends down and gives me a quick kiss before pulling on his underwear and going to Scarlett's room. I drag myself up and put my pyjamas back on. Damon comes back in and gives her to me so I can feed her.

"I'm going to talk to Aunt Jenna today. Ask her about being adopted and tell her about the supernatural" I say.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asks.

"Please"

We get ready and head out to see Jenna.

* * *

"Aunt Jenna" I call as we walk through the door.

"Hey!" she replies as she comes down the stairs.

"Can we talk to you?" I ask.

"Of course" she replies, and leads us into the living room. Damon settles Scarlett on her playmat with some toys before sitting next to me on the sofa. Aunt Jenna sits in the chair opposite.

"There's a few things we need to talk about, but the first thing I need to ask is if I'm adopted."

Aunt Jenna looks at me in shock before looking down at the floor.

"I was never meant to be the one to tell you or Elena. It should have been Miranda and Grayson. They were going to tell you both at the same time. Yes, you were adopted, as was Elena."

"Elena told me she was. I haven't told anyone yet. We only just worked it out whilst we were away."

"How?"

"I'll explain that shortly" I reply. "What do you know about it?"

"I know that Miranda and Grayson desperately wanted a baby, but it wasn't happening. A family friend of the Bennett's was pregnant. She was only 16. Miranda and Abby were best friends, and Abby suggested Miranda and Grayson adopt the baby, so they did."

"Do you know anything about my parents?" I ask.

"I know your mom's name - Sophia Jacobs." I look at Damon as soon as she says her name. "She was killed in a car wreck a few months after you were born. I don't know who your Dad was." She looks at me sadly. "Sheila Bennett might know more since she was a family friend."

"I will ask her." I reply.

"What else did you want to talk about?" she asks.

"What we're about to tell you will be difficult to believe and understand, but it's all true. You need to understand we're telling you this to keep you safe as in this case ignorance is most certainly not bliss."

"Oookaayy" she replies.

"Firstly, Vampires and witches are real."

"No they're not."

"Yes, they are. Damon, can you grab me a candle please?"

"Of course" he replies and heads into the kitchen before coming back with a candle, setting it on the coffee table.

"I'm a witch, Aunt Jenna" I say. " _Incendia_ " I say, and the candle bursts into flame. Jenna looks at me in shock.

"I think this conversation is going to need wine" she says, getting up and heading to the kitchen. She returns a few minutes later with a bottle of wine and a glass. She pours some wine into the glass and takes a big gulp.

"Right, so you're a witch. I remember Miranda used to tell me stories about Vampires. You'll be telling me Damon is one next."

Damon and I look at each other.

"No... no... you're not." Jenna stammers.

"He is" I reply.

"So you're a witch and he's a Vampire? How do I know he's not going to eat me?"

"We are, and he's not" I say. "If he was going to do anything he would have done it long ago. He won't you or anyone I care about."

"Okay" Jenna says, still obviously freaked out.

"There's more. Damon is Scarlett's Dad"

"How? Is it even possible for Vampires to have kids?"

"Well you know when two people are attracted to each other they do things..." Damon starts. I elbow him.

"Not helping Damon" I say with an eye roll.

We go on to explain everything, about being soulmates and the bond we have as a result. How it was possible for soulmates to have a baby. We explained going to Atlanta to see Bree for answers and how she told me I'm a witch, prompting us to realise I must have been adopted.

We explain that Scarlett is a hybrid and how because of my bloodline and Damon's ancestry she will be extremely powerful when she's older. We explain about Damon having extra powers that normal Vampires don't have as a result.

We tell her about Katherine and how she must never invite anyone who looks Elena in to the house in case the person who wants the tomb open actually succeeds and she gets out.

We basically tell her everything.

"This is all so much to take in. I'm going to need time to process everything" she says, getting up.

"I understand, but I need you to promise that you won't tell anyone about Scarlett"

"I promise" she replies.

"One last thing, Scarlett and I are going to move in with Damon. We're there most of the time anyway and it just makes sense. We can protect her better if we're together."

"You're 19, and a mother. I can't tell you what to do. Besides, I've seen the way he looks at you." she says with a smile and heads upstairs.

"Well that went well." Damon says.

"That went surprisingly well, considering." I reply.

We head upstairs to start packing the things Scarlett and I will be taking with us.

"We need to tell Elena, Jeremy, Stefan and Bonnie about Scarlett and I." I say.

"We do. Get them to meet us here and we can tell them all together." I nod.

"I'll text Elena and Jeremy."

_**To Jeremy:** _

_**Come home, we need to talk~ Imogen** _

_**Okay, won't be long ~ Jeremy** _

_**To Elena:** _

_**Come home, we need to talk. Bring Stefan and Bonnie with you ~ Imogen** _

_**We're on our way ~ Elena** _

"They're on their way" I tell Damon. He nods and takes the suitcases I've packed downstairs.

A short while later everyone is here. We're sat in the living room.

"So what is all this about?" Elena asks.

"I'm adopted too" I say.

"So neither of you are really my sisters?" Jeremy asks.

"Sorry Jer" I say sadly.

"It's okay. I mean you're still both my sisters. Not being related by blood doesn't change the fact we grew up together."

I smile in response and give him and Elena hugs.

Damon and I go on to explain about me being a witch, and Scarlett being a hybrid. We also explain my bloodline and Damon and Stefan being a distant descendant of Silas, giving him extra powers.

"I knew you were in Atlanta for more than just family time" Stefan says smugly.

"I wanted to tell Jenna, Elena and Jeremy about me being adopted before anyone else. They're family, they deserved to know first. And we couldn't explain anything else without telling you that" I say.

"I get it" he replies with a smile. "Do you think that I have the extra abilities that you do?"

"You probably do, but you're not strong enough on animal blood." Damon replies.

Stefan nods in response.

"We're probably going to need your help in the future to keep Scarlett safe. More so you two" Damon says, pointing to Stefan and Bonnie. "Bree put some protection spells on the 3 of us, but we're going to need all the help we can get."

Stefan nods. "She's my niece, of course"

"And I'm going to need yours and Grams help with training" I say to Bonnie.

"Absolutely" she says with a smile.

"I need you all to promise never to tell anyone about Scarlett. I was going to do a spell that would prevent you all from spilling, but I would like to think I can trust you all enough that you would keep quiet."

They all agree.

"One more thing." Damon says. "Imogen and Scarlett are moving in to the boarding house, and we're going to put the house in Imogen's name so only she can invite Vampires in. It will make it as safe as possible for everyone."

"That's a good idea brother" Stefan says.

"You've told Jenna everything as well?" Elena asks.

"Yes. She needed to know to be able to protect herself" I say.

"You know I will do what I can too" Jeremy says.

"You're just a kid Jer" I say "But I appreciate knowing you're all there for us."

We chat for a while longer before Bonnie says she needs to head home to get ready for the dance. Jeremy heads out to meet his friends.

"I need to pack some more of our things" I say.

"I need to go make closet space for everything" Damon chuckles, giving me a quick kiss before going to pick up Scarlett. He gives her a kiss too before heading home with Stefan saying he will be back later to help me move my things.

Elena and I head upstairs, me to pack and her to get ready for the dance.

I overhear Jenna and Elena talking about her car being totaled and being adopted. Jenna is also going to the dance as a chaperone as the new history teacher, Alaric asked her to. I think they're dating.

A short while later I hear Elena.

"Aunt Jenna? Jeremy? Imogen?"

I open my bedroom door.

"What's up?" I ask her.

"The Vampire compass. Stefan gave it me because of the one who called me. It's spinning."

"Call Stefan" I say.

She calls Stefan.

"That was Damon. Stefan is on his way over, he forgot his phone. He must be here" she says with relief and heads downstairs.

I go back into my room and I hear a scream followed by Stefan shouting Elena's name. I go downstairs to find Stefan hugging Elena tightly.

"What happened?" I ask.

"He was here, he was in the house" Elena cries.

"Oh my god, he's been invited in" I say, eyes wide. I quickly run upstairs and call Damon.

" _Hey you_ " he says as he answers.

"You need to get here, now. The Vampire that's been stalking Elena was here. He's been invited in."

_"I'll be right there"_ he replies and hangs up.

He arrives a few minutes later, wrapping his arms around me and Scarlett and kissing my head.

"How did he get in?" he asks.

"He was invited in" I say.

"He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night" Stefan tells us.

"Well, he gets points for that. Did he say what he wanted?" Damon asks.

"No. He was too busy trying to kill me."

Stefan looks at Damon. "And you have no idea who this is?"

"No."

Stefan pulls a face.

"Don't look at me like that. You know we have company."

"You think there's more than one?" I ask.

"We don't know."

"Damon, he was invited in" Stefan says.

Damon nods. "Then we go get him tonight. You up for it?"

"What do I have to do?"

"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance. Imogen and I will go as chaperones. We'll see who shows up."

"That's a bad idea." Stefan says.

"Till we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot." I say.

"I'll do it" Elena says.

Stefan looks worried.

"I'll be with the three of you. I'll be safe."

"I need to quickly get changed" I say before dragging Damon upstairs with me. I hand him an outfit and clean diaper for Scarlett and he takes her from me. He gets her ready whilst I get myself ready, then we head back downstairs and to the dance.

* * *

We arrive at the dance. Elena and I head over to the punch bowl to speak to Bonnie and Caroline.

"Having fun?" Elena asks.

"No, but this took about 2 hours, so I'm at least staying half of that" Caroline says, gesturing to herself.

"What are you and Damon doing here?" Bonnie asks me, then she looks over to where Damon is stood with Stefan, Scarlett in his arms.

"They wanted to come" Elena replies. I give Bonnie a look.

"We're going to the bathroom" I say, and lead Bonnie away leaving Elena with Caroline.

Once we reach the bathroom I check there is no one else in before telling Bonnie about the Vampire that attacked Elena at the house earlier.

"So that's why you and Damon are here?"

"Yes. We're hoping he'll show up so Damon and Stefan can take care of him."

"Gotcha. What do you need me to do?"

"Keep Caroline out of the way and look after Scarlett? A Vampire fight is no place for a baby."

"Of course. I think Caroline wants to leave so we'll head to the Grill and take Scarlett with us. You can pick her up once he's taken care of."

"Thank you Bonnie" I say, hugging her.

"Anything for that beautiful baby" she replies. "You and Damon make beautiful babies together."

I blush and we link arms before heading back into the dance.

Bonnie goes off to find Caroline and I see Elena and Stefan on the dancefloor. I also see Jeremy behind the punch bowl talking to a girl with dark hair, and Damon stood with Imogen. Alaric is approaching him and I make my way over.

"Yeah, I don't recognize you. How'd you get roped into chaperoning? Alaric Saltzman. I'm the new history teacher." I hear Alaric say to Damon.

"Ah, the, uh, cursed faculty position."

' _Because you ate the last one_ ' I think to Damon with amusement.

' _He attacked my soulmate_ ' I get in reply and I can imagine the big pout he would like to throw at me.

I reach them and give Damon a quick kiss before taking Scarlett from him.

"So I've been told."

"Damon. Salvatore."

"Imogen Gilbert. And this is Scarlett."

"Salvatore, as in, uh, Stefan? And Imogen as in Jenna?" I nod in response.

"He's my little brother. I'm his legal guardian, hence the chaperoning."

"And he roped me in too."

"I hear Stefan's very bright, not that I've had a chance to see for myself."

"Well, his attendance record's a little spotty. Family drama."

"No parents?"

"Mm, it's just the two of us now."

"You, uh—you live here your whole life?"

_'I don't know where he's going with these questions, but I don't like it."_ I think to Damon.

_'Me either.'_

"On and off. Travelled a bit."

"Really? Where? Around the states?"

Damon just looks at him with raised eyebrows.

"Heh. I'm sorry. I'm nosy. I...I don't mean to pry. Look, it was nice meeting you."

"You, too." I reply.

"Enjoy the rest of the dance." he says and heads off.

"That was weird" I say.

"Yep" he replies.

"Bonnie and Caroline are leaving, they're going to take Scarlett with them to the Grill. I told Bonnie what is going on. She'll keep her safe."

"Good idea" he nods. He kisses Scarlett on the head and I go in search of Bonnie and Caroline. Once they have Scarlett and have left I go back in and find Damon.

We dance for a while before we realise that both Stefan and Elena have disappeared.

We start looking for them when Damon suddenly stops and listens.

"This way" he says grabbing my hand and leading me down the hall. We enter the room just as Stefan pushes the Vampire off Elena. Damon grabs a stake that is on the floor.

"Hey, dickhead. Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk." Damon says.

The Vampire just smiles at us and goes to attack Elena again. Damon throws the stake to Stefan who grabs it and thrusts it into the Vampires stomach.

"Now you feel like talkin'?" Stefan asks as Damon and I walk over to them.

"Screw you."

"Wrong answer. Why are you doing this?" Stefan asks as I give the Vampire a witchy migraine.

"Because it's fun."

"What do you want with Elena?" Damon asks as Stefan twists the stake in further.

"She looks like Katherine."

"You knew Katherine?" Damon asks.

"Oh. You thought you were the only ones. You don't even remember me."

"Are you trying to get in the tomb? Tell me how. Hmm?"

"No."

I witchy migraine him some more.

"The grimoire." I roll my eyes. We already know that.

"Where is it?" Damon asks. Stefan drives the stake even deeper.

"Check the journal. The journal. Johnathan's journal. Johnathan Gilbert's." The Vampire gasps.

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan asks. The Vampire doesn't reply.

"Who else is there?" Damon asks.

"No. You're gonna have to kill me."

Damon and Stefan look at each other. Damon rolls his eyes and nods, then Stefan removes the stake from the Vampires stomach and stakes him through the heart.

"What do we...how are you gonna find the others now?" Elena asks.

"He had to die." Damon says with a shrug.

"But..."

I cut her off. "Elena, he's been invited in. He had to die."

We hear a door open and look to see the Alaric in the corridor.

"Go. I got this." Stefan says. Damon goes to compel Alaric and I follow him.

"Hey" Alaric says.

"What were you doing?" Damon says, compelling him.

"Looking for Ms. Hilden."

"Why are you in Mystic Falls?"

"I got a job as a teacher."

"Do you know what I am?"

"You're my student's brother."

"Is everything you're telling me the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then forget we had this conversation."

Damon then leads me away. We meet up with Stefan.

"There's no way that idiot was working alone" I say.

"So the grimoire...That was Emily's, right? That's what is needed to reverse the spell. When the founding families burned her, they took her things, and he thinks Johnathan Gilbert's journal will say where it is." Stefan says.

"Look at you puttin' the pieces together. Good for you." Damon says.

"Why do you want the grimoire if you don't want the tomb to be opened?" Stefan asks.

"Isn't it obvious?" I say.

"So no one else gets hold if it and opens the damn tomb" Damon says.

"Fine. I'll help you." Stefan says.

Damon nods in response.

"Come on Imz, let's go get our baby girl" Damon says, leading me out of the building to his car. We head to the Grill and find Bonnie and Caroline.

"Hey" I say.

"Everything okay?" Bonnie asks.

I nod "Everything is taken care of."

Bonnie nods in response.

"I have a date with Ben McKittrick" she says.

I smile in response. "Good for you."

We say our goodbyes and head for home.

"Are you okay?" Damon asks me, resting his hands on my hips.

"Surprisingly, yes. it felt good making him pay for stalking my sister" I reply.

"Good" he chuckles. "Just remind me not to piss you off, don't fancy one of those witchy migraines."

"Don't do anything to deserve one then" I reply with a kiss.

We head to bed wondering what the next days will bring.


	15. Coming In The Air Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up a bit long! Wanted to get all the tomb stuff out of the way.
> 
> As usual I don't own anything TVD related.

**December 11th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: In The Air Tonight; Smith and Myers**

_Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand_

_I've seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am_

_Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes_

_So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been_

_It's all been a pack of lies_

**Imogen's POV**

"Wakey wakey beautiful" I hear Damon whisper in my ear. I open my eyes and look at him.

"It's too early Damon, urgh!"

"It's the perfect time to annoy our siblings" he says, kissing me slowly.

"In that case you probably don't want to carry on kissing me or I won't be getting out of this bed anytime soon" I say with a pout.

"Stefan said he'll help us find the grimoire, we need to find Johnathan Gilbert's journal, Elena is a Gilbert and she's taken up residence in Stefan's bed, so we're going to go annoy them and send them on journal duty."

"I'm a Gilbert too you know."

"Technically you're a Jacobs, but in any case I want to drag you back to bed after" he says with a wink. "Plus you're my soulmate so you may as well be a Salvatore."

"I'll be a Gilbert until you actually ask me to marry you" I say with a chuckle and get out of bed. I pull some clothes on and Damon does the same. We grab the baby monitor and sneak into Stefan's room. I cloak us so they can't see us.

We don't have long to wait before they wake up.

"Mmm. Good morning." Elena says to Stefan.

"I could get used to this." Stefan replies.

Damon nods at me and I drop the cloaking spell.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads." he says.

"Damon! Please!" Elena shouts.

"What are you doing?" Stefan growls.

"Oh, stop being smutty." I say with a chuckle.

"Seriously, get out of here!" Stefan says.

"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it. Now listen, we have some very important business to discuss." Damon says. I burst out laughing.

"And it has to be right now?" Elena asks.

"Well, we have lots to do, now that we're all friends and working toward a common goal." Damon replies.

"So, in order to stop the tomb being opened, we need to find the journal to get the grimoire as that has the steps to undo the spells. First things first-since you are Elena Gilbert, you're on journal duty."

"Since when am I helping? Imogen is a Gilbert too."

"Well, Stefan's helping, and you've taken up residence in Stefan's bed, ergo... And Imogen has college and then we have plans of our own."

_'Like spend the day in bed whilst this pair find the journal'_ Damon thinks suggestively.

_'Hmmm I could leave Scarlett at daycare and come home at 11 when I've finished college for the day'_

_'That's my girl'_

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." Stefan says to Elena.

"I'll look for it today." she replies.

"Thank you" I say.

"How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire? We're really going to take the word of this vampire? He seemed like a bit of a dimwit" Stefan asks.

"In lieu of any other options..."

"OK, what exactly is a grimoire, anyway?" Elena asks.

"It's a witch's cookbook." Damon replies.

Stefan rolls his eyes. "Every spell that a witch casts is unique unto itself, so every witch would document their work." he tells Elena.

"Yeah. Cookbook." I say.

"What about our mystery vampire? Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone, so whoever's out there knows who we are." Stefan says.

"And I don't like that disadvantage, so... Chop, chop. Can't have that tomb opened and our girls in danger."

We start to head out of the room when Damon turns around.

"You know, I really like this whole ménage a foursome team thing. It's got a bit of a kink to it. Don't screw it up." he says with a chuckle. We leave and head back to his room.

"I'm pleased you are starting to get on with him" I say, wrapping my arms around Damon's waist.

"Me too, I've missed my baby brother" he replies, wrapping his arms around me and giving me a kiss.

"Later" I promise before getting ready for college. Damon goes into Scarlett's room and gets her up and ready for the day. Once we've had breakfast I head to college.

* * *

I get home around 11.30. As soon as I walk in the door I hear a whoosh and the next thing I know I'm being thrown onto our bed, and Damon is hovering over me. I giggle.

"I've only been gone 3 hours" I say.

"I know, but I missed you. And I was promised a day in bed" he replies. He leans down to kiss me.

* * *

Several hours later we lay wrapped in each others arms, sated from several hours of making love.

"I should probably go and pick up Scarlett" I say.

"Hmmm" he hums with a pout.

"You know you miss her" I say.

"I do, but I miss you when you're not with me too."

I kiss away his pout. "I won't be long, besides you've had me all afternoon"

"In more ways that one" he replies, wiggling his eyebrows. I chuckle.

"Hmmm Vampire recovery comes in handy" I say.

"I'm cooking dinner tonight. At the Gilbert house. Family night"

"What are you up to?"I ask.

"I don't think Stefan fully believes I don't want that tomb opened yet, so I'm not sure if I can trust him. I'm just keeping an eye on your sister, and where she is Stefan isn't far behind. Plus it's a good excuse for family time. You've not really seen Jenna or Jeremy since you officially moved in. I don't want them hating me for stealing you away."

"You can be so sweet when you want to be."

"Don't tell anyone. Got a reputation to uphold."

I chuckle and give him a kiss before hopping out of bed and getting dressed.

"I'll see you at Jenna's after you've picked Scarlett up?" he asks.

"You will. Love you."

"Love you"

* * *

I walk through the door of my old house after picking Scarlett up.

"Hey" I call.

"Hey! We're in the kitchen" Jenna shouts back.

I head into the kitchen where Damon is chopping tomatoes and Jenna is sitting on the counter drinking wine. I put Scarlett in her high chair and give her a couple toys to play with.

"My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more. Of course. What about you?" Damon says, continuing a conversation they must have started before I arrived.

"There were a few guys. Logan isn't the only loser I've dated." she replies.

"They ever find him? Or is he still missing?" I ask.

"He's not missing. He's in the Bahamas working on his tan. Very entitled, that one. Marches to his own drum. He's a Fell. They're all snooty." Jenna says, finishing her wine.

Damon chuckles at her and walks over. He pours more wine for her, then turns round to carry on cooking.

"Hello, Elena." I say as Elena comes through the door.

"Hey. Where have you been? We're cooking dinner." Jenna says to her.

"Is Stefan with you?" Damon asks.

"He'll be here soon." she replies and goes over to Scarlett to play with her a little.

Jenna jumps down from the counter and heads into the living room where Jeremy is.

I go to take some plates to the table and Damon deliberately bumps into me.

"That move was deliberate." I say with a chuckle.

"Well, yeah, I was deliberately trying to get to the sink." he says with a smirk. I hear Elena scoff.

"So, Stefan, where is he? He's missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely." Damon says to Elena. She just shrugs.

Damon looks over to Elena. "Is it real?" he asks.

"Is what real?"

"This renewed sense of brotherhood. Can I trust him?"

"Yes, you can trust him."

Damon vamps over to be in front of Elena.

"Can I trust him?" he asks again.

"I'm wearing vervain, Damon. It's not going to work."

"I'm not compelling you. I just want you to answer me. Honestly."

"Of course you can." she replies.

"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone."

I go over and wrap my arms around him from behind, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Trust breeds trust. You have to give it to get it."

"Are you lecturing him?"I ask.

"Does he need to be lectured?" she replies.

"I just want to make sure Imogen and Scarlett are safe. I'm sure you can understand that."

"I can understand that you would do anything for them, yes."

"Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way and something happens to either of them."

Damon walks back to the stove and Elena looks at me.

"Stefan best not be lying about helping. You know how protective of Scarlett and I he is. I know he wants to trust Stefan, but he betrayed him and Damon is still struggling to get past that."

"He can trust him. I promise" she replies.

We all sit down to eat, and once we're finished Damon takes Scarlett into the living room. Jeremy goes with him and they sit on the sofa and play a video game. Damon has Scarlett on his lap. Jenna, Elena and I are clearing the table.

"He is ridiculously hot." Jenna says.

"He can be an ass." Elena says.

"He's only an ass if you deserve it." I say and go into the living room.

"You said you never played this thing before." Jeremy says to Damon.

"I'm a fast learner. Quick reflexes."

I smirk at his reply and take Scarlett from his lap.

Jeremy's phone starts ringing, so he pauses the game and takes it out of his pocket. He looks at the caller ID and tosses his phone aside. He unpauses the game and they continue to play.

"Who are you dodging?" I ask.

"This girl Anna. She can be, uh, persistent."

"Is she hot?" Damon asks. I roll my eyes at him.

"Yeah, yeah, but she can be weird." Jeremy replies.

"Hot trumps weird, trust me." Damon says, winking at me.

Jeremy laughs at Damon's comment.

The doorbell rings and Elena appears.

"That's Stefan" she says. Damon gets up and I follow him out the front door to the porch. Jeremy isn't pleased Damon left mid game.

"Where have you been" Damon asks.

"Trying to get the journal. The history teacher had it."

"Had it?"

"Yeah, he said it was on his desk, but then it wasn't."

"Who took it?" I ask.

"I don't know." he replies.

"You know what, it's that teacher. There's something really off about him."

"I agree" I say.

"No, he doesn't know anything. Somebody got to it right before me." Stefan says.

"Who else knew it was there?" Damon asks.

"Jeremy gave the journal to the teacher. Perhaps he mentioned it to someone else?" I say.

"Perhaps. We should find out" Damon says.

"Well the teacher made a copy, he was kind enough to loan it to me" Stefan says.

"He did?" Elena says.

"Well not exactly, but I got it." he replies.

"We still need to find out who else is after the journal" I say. "You two read through the copy, see if you can find where the grimoire is. Damon and I will talk to Jeremy."

"Ok" Elena nods.

We all head inside. Elena and Stefan go upstairs and Damon and I go into the living room.

"So...I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?" Damon says.

"Huh?"

"Don't ask questions, just spill."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Johnathan Gilbert's journal?" I ask.

"Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?" Jeremy asks.

"It has the location of the spell book that can be used to open the tomb under the old Church which is full of dessicated Vampires. Who else did you tell?" I say.

"Just that girl Anna."

"The hot, weird one?" Damon asks.

"Yeah." Jeremy replies.

"Wait, who is Anna?" I ask.

"That's what I want to find out." Damon replies. "How do you know her?"

"I met her in the library. She wants me to meet her at the Grill tonight."

"Perfect. I'll drive. Come on."

"O-Okay."

"Let me ask Jenna to watch Scarlett" I say.

Damon nods and I head upstairs.

"Jenna can you watch Scarlett for a couple of hours please?"

"Of course" she replies, taking her.

"Thank you" I say, and head back downstairs.

The 3 of us get in Damon's car and head to the Grill. Damon and I head to the bar and Jeremy joins a girl at the pool table.

Damon looks around and I see a surprised expression on his face.

_'The girl, Anna, she's a Vampire.'_ He thinks to me.

_'Trust us Gilbert's to all end up dating Vampires'_

_'She's from 1864. Her mother was best friends with Katherine. I bet she is the one who wants to open the tomb. Her mother is in there along with Katherine'_

_'Things are starting to make sense'_ I reply.

We finish our drinks and leave.

"I'll drop you off so you can pick up Scarlett and your car, then I'm going to have a little chat with Anna."

Damon drives me to my old house.

"See if Stefan and Elena have found anything and let me know if they have."

"Okay" I say. I go into the house and up to Elena's room. They haven't found anything yet so I check on Scarlett who has gone to sleep in our old room, then go and grab some papers from the journal and start reading.

A little while later Stefan speaks up.

"I know where it is."

"Where?" I ask.

"Buried with my father" he says.

"Looks like we're going digging. I'll let Damon know" I say. I go into my old room and call him.

_"Hey you"_ he says as he answers.

"We know where it is. Buried with your father."

_"Of course it is. He always said he would take his secrets to the grave. I'm assuming you're headed there?"_

"Yes, with Stefan and Elena."

_"I'll see you soon. See if Jenna will have Scarlett overnight"_

"I will do. See you soon."

I speak to Jenna who is happy to have Scarlett overnight. I head to the cemetery with Stefan and Elena and we meet Damon there.

Damon and Stefan dig whilst Elena and I sit to the side watching and holding torches. After a while the shovels hit something hard.

They get rid of the remaining soil and open the coffin lid.

"There it is" Stefan says, lifting the grimoire from the arms of his Father's skeleton. He hands it to Damon who hands it to me.

They fill the grave in and we head back to the cars.

"I'll see you at home" I say as I get in my car. "I'm dropping Elena and Stefan off first."

"See you soon" Damon replies.

I drop Elena and Stefan off at my old house and head home. I get out of the car and head towards the house when suddenly everything goes black.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I head home after getting the grimoire and wait for Imogen. I pour myself a glass of bourbon and think about the day. Stefan has proven I can trust him. Maybe things between us are in fact getting better. He does seem to want to help us protect Scarlett and he even said it was a good idea for Imogen and Scarlett to move in here. I just need to get the paperwork completed so the house is in Imogen's name.

I also think about how much my life has changed in the last couple of months. I'm certainly a lot happier than I've ever been, including my human life. I'm so grateful to have found my soulmate.

After about an hour there is still no sign of Imogen. I'm about to call her when my phone rings. I see that it's Stefan.

"What's up Stef?"

_"Elena is missing. Jeremy took that Anna girl to the house and she disappeared too. I think she took Elena."_

"Shit. I forgot to say. Anna is Annabelle. From 1864. Is Imogen still there?"

_"No, she dropped us off and went home about 40 minutes ago. She should have been there a while ago."_

"She's not here. Fuck."

I head outside and see her car in the drive.

"Her car's here but she's not. Fuck Stef! Is Scarlett still there?"

_"Yes she is. She's asleep in Imogen's old room"_

"Thank god. Get Jenna and Jeremy and bring Scarlett here. Anna hasn't been invited in so they will all be safe."

_"Then what?"_

"Then we find our girlfriends" I say, and hang up.

A short while later Jenna, Jeremy and Stefan arrive with Scarlett. I take Scarlett and cuddle her close.

"We're going to find your Mom and Aunt" I say to her. She looks up at me with her blue eyes.

Stefan shows Jenna and Jeremy to rooms they can use whilst they're here and I go to defrost some breast milk to make Scarlett a bottle. I get her fed and Jenna takes over to get her settled. I join Stefan and Jeremy in the parlour. I pour myself a large bourbon. I can't feel anything from Imogen through either of our bonds except that I know she's still alive. I can only assume she was knocked out quickly for me not to sense she was in danger earlier. I wonder if she's too far away or still unconscious.

"Do you know where Anna is staying?" I ask Jeremy.

"No, she always meets me at the Grill or just pops up."

"What about you, you talked to her earlier?" Stefan says to me.

"I talked to her in the alley behind the grill. No idea where she's staying."

We spend the night searching everywhere we can think of, but don't find them or any clue as to where they are. we

"What about Grams? Or Bonnie? One of them could do a locator spell." Stefan says as it starts to get light.

"Locator spells usually need blood. Since they're both adopted Scarlett's blood would be best. I don't know if I can hurt my baby" I say.

"Why don't we go see Grams and see what she says. She might not need blood."

I nod and we head over to her house.

"What can I do for you at this time of the morning?" Grams asks.

"Imogen and Elena have been taken by a Vampire who wants to open the tomb. We have no idea where they are. We've spent all night searching. I can't even feel Imogen through our blood bond, I only know she's not dead. I was hoping you might be able to help, you know, with a locator spell or something?"

As I'm talking my voice gets a little more frantic. Grams can tell as she gives me a soft look.

"Of course. I just had a call from Bonnie's father. She didn't go home last night, and she didn't stay here. When did you last share blood with Imogen."

"Yesterday afternoon" I say.

"You feed on her?" Stefan exclaims.

"No. We blood share. It keeps the blood bond strong." I retort. Grams just smiles.

"I can use your blood as you have hers in your system. I'll use mine to search for Bonnie. Damon, please come in."

I step into the house followed by Jeremy. Stefan has to wait outside. Grams gets a map and some candles. She lays the map on the table and lights the candles around the room. She cuts her palm and let's some blood drip onto the map.

"Time for your blood" she says. I bite into my palm and let my blood drip onto the map to join hers. She begins to chant and I watch as the blood moves across the map until it stops.

"They're here, together" pointing out a motel on the map. "Your bonds are extremely strong. You can't feel her as she's unconscious but once she wakes you'll be drawn to her."

"Thank you Sheila. I know you've been helping Imogen with her magic too, I really appreciate it."

"She's a very special girl, Damon. But you already know that. Go on, go and rescue the three of them I'll wait here."

We say our goodbyes and head down the drive.

"Jeremy, go back to the boarding house and tell Jenna we're going to get them. We won't be long."

"I want to help, they're my sisters and their best friend."

"I understand, but we don't know how many other Vampires there are. Anna turned Vicki and Logan, we don't who else she turned. They wouldn't want you getting hurt." Stefan says.

Jeremy relents and heads to the boarding house. Stefan and I make our way to the motel. He must be able to tell how wound up I am.

"She'll be fine, we'll get them all out of there" he tells me.

"I honestly can't bear the thought of anything happening to her Stef."

"You need to calm down. I've never seen you so frantic."

"That's because I've never had the woman I'm crazily in love with kidnapped before" I snap.

Stefan stops walking. "I get it. I do. But you need to calm down so we can save them."

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. "You're right Stef. Let's go get them."

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up in the early hours of the next morning to Elena shaking me. I go to speak but she puts her finger to her lips and points towards a sleeping Ben in the chair at the foot of the beds.

"Vampire?" I mouth. She nods in response.

We both look around and we decide that we can get to the door without waking him. We climb over his legs and get to door. Elena unlocks it and is about to open it when we hear a voice behind us.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Ben says. We both jump and turn around.

"Don't try to escape. Don't even move. Do you understand?" he says, compelling us both.

"I understand" we say in unison.

Ben turns around to the mini fridge and Elena takes the opportunity to open the door. We try to make a run for it but are stopped by a dark haired girl who grabs us both and pushes us back inside.

"Seriously?" she says to Ben.

"I told them not to move! I did that eye thing that you taught me!" he says.

"And forgot the lesson about witches and vervain! She's a witch" she says, pointing at me. "And they both date vampires, Ben. Duh!"

The female Vampire pushes us up against the wall and opens the bathroom door.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Elena asks.

"Does it matter?" the female Vampire responds, shoving us both into the bathroom and closing the door.

I turn on the light and we both turn around to see Bonnie unconscious in the bath tub.

"Bonnie!" I say and we both go over to her.

"Bonnie! Oh my god!" Elena says, cradling her head.

I get a towel and wet it. I pass it to Elena who places it on Bonnie's forehead. She slowly opens her eyes.

"Bonnie?" Elena says.

"Elena? Imogen?" Bonnie replies

"Oh, you're okay!" I say.

"My head..." Bonnie groans.

"Mine too. I don't know what they used to knock us out but it hurts and I feel all fuzzy."

"Come here." Elena says to Bonnie and pulls her up.

"Oh my god! Ben is a-!" Bonnie exclaims.

"Shhhh. They can hear." Elena says, gesturing to the door.

I turn on the tap.

"I'm so stupid!" Bonnie groans.

"No, he had all of us fooled!" I say.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" Bonnie asks. Elena looks at me before replying.

"It must have something to do with the tomb and Emily's spell book."

"Spell book?"

"Damon said it could be used to open the tomb, and he is trying to avoid that happening." Elena explains.

"Why didn't I know about any of this?"

"We were trying to keep you out of it, hoping it would never come to this." I say.

"Come to what?"

"They need a witch to break the spell and let the vampires out." Elena says.

"No way!"

"We know. The last thing any of us, including Damon, wants is that tomb to be opened. Though he would be grateful for the opportunity to stake Katherine" I say.

Ben comes through the door and turns the tap off.

"You're wasting your time. I'm not gonna help you." Bonnie tells him.

Ben grabs hold of Elena. "That's why she's here. Motivation for you to behave. You know, you shouldn't be so desperate. You made it too easy."

Ben then grabs my arm. "And this one is motivation to get the spell book from Damon."

He then pushes us through the door and back into the bedroom.

"She wants to talk to you two" he says, pushing us into the room and closing the door behind us.

"Well, well. Elena Gilbert. You really are Katherine's doppelgänger. And Imogen Gilbert, the soulmate. You two must have the Salvatore boys reeling."

"Who are you?" I ask through gritted teeth. I'm trying to send Damon a message but I'm either too weak or he's too far away.

"I'm Anna. Your brother may have mentioned me. I mean, we're like, practically dating."

"Bonnie's not gonna open the tomb."

"Oh, I think she will." Anna replies.

"Do you really want Katherine out that bad?" I ask.

"Trust me. No one I know wants to see that girl again." she says, looking at me.

"Then what is it? Or who is it?" Elena asks

"My mother's in there. Katherine couldn't help herself. She just had to toy around with both of the Salvatore brothers. And when she got caught, so did my mother. I watched Johnathan Gilbert take her away."

"I'm sorry." Elena says. I roll my eyes.

"You really mean that, don't you? Yeah, I think we'll skip the dead mom bonding so you can start serving a purpose." she says with a chuckle.

"Which is what?"

"Leverage. This belong to you?" Anna says, holding up Elena's phone. Elena tries to grab it.

"Ah-ah!" Anna says, dialing a number.

We hear Stefan speak. _"Elena? Are you okay?"_

"She's fine. For now. Tell me you have the grimoire and she'll stay fine."

_"I can get it."_

"Which means your brother has it. And I have the witch, his soulmate and your girlfriend. So one of you had better meet me in the very public town square in 30 minutes so we can safely discuss how fun it's gonna be to work together."

"I'm leaving." Anna says, knocking on the bathroom door. Ben comes out, bringing Bonnie with him. "Keep them buttoned down. Compulsion won't work. Just use violence."

"Right. I got that." Ben replies. Anna leaves.

"Sit. Behave." Ben says, pushing Bonnie onto the bed. "So you're the key to this. Literally. The one who opens the door. Tell me, how long have you been a witch?"

"Is there anything to drink here?" Elena asks.

"Are you offering? There's water on the night stand."

Elena grabs the glass and starts to take a sip.

"Hey. Can I have a sip?" I ask.

She hands me the glass. I take it and toss the water over Ben, then I turn the water into flames. We all get up and make a run for the door. As Bonnie starts to open and run out Ben grabs Elena.

"Come back in! Shut the door!"

We do as he says.

"Don't hurt her!" Bonnie says.

"Don't make me!"

Bonnie shuts the door behind her.

"Lock it!" Ben orders.

Bonnie locks the door. We go back to the bed and take a seat.

_'Imz? Thank god I can feel you again! Stefan is on his way to get you out whilst I meet Anna to see what she wants. I love you'_

_'Damon! Thank god! I don't know what they did but it made my head all fuzzy and I couldn't use magic. I love you! Is Scarlett safe?'_

_'She's fine. She's with Jenna at the boarding house.'_

"Witches don't have eternal life, right? So you guys can die." Ben asks.

"Yep. We can die." Bonnie replies.

"Ah. That sucks."

In that moment the door burst open. Ben moved to the other side of the room away from the sunlight. Stefan is in the doorway, and he then rips open the curtains.

"Stefan!" Elena exclaims.

"Get outside" he replies, and we run outside.

Once Stefan joins us he takes us to Grams house. Damon arrives at the same time we do.

"Imogen" he breathes, pulling me into his arms tightly and kissing my head.

I wrap my arms around his waist and take a deep breath, inhaling his scent which calms me. "God I've missed you"

"I've missed you too" he replies.

We head into Grams house.

"How did you know where we were?" I hear Bonnie asking Grams.

"Many things can fuel a witches power. Worry. Anger. After Damon told me they had taken Imogen and Elena and I realised they had you too, I had a lot of both. Simple locater spell was easy after that." Grams replied.

"I'm sorry. About all of this." I say.

"Not as sorry as they're gonna be." Grams replies with a smirk.

"So what do we do now?" Elena asks.

"Well, for now, you need to stay here." Stefan says, having been invited in after he rescued Bonnie.

"A prisoner, in my own home? I don't think so." Grams says.

"We can't protect you if you leave the house."

"We'll protect ourselves."

"We need to let her have her mother back. She's not going to stop until she gets her. If we help her, maybe that ends it." Elena says.

"No! She doesn't deserve to get what she wants." Damon growls.

"What other choice do we have?" Elena says.

"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems. As much as we tried to do to stay out of it. I'll open the tomb. You get Anna's mother and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."

"I'll help" I say.

"I'm not happy about this" Damon growls.

I turn round to look at him, taking his hands in mine.

"What choice do we have? She kidnapped 3 of us to get what she wants. What if next time she goes for Scarlett?" I say, tears blurring my vision.

Damon takes a deep breath and nods.

"Okay. We get Pearl, the rest burn." he says.

We all agree to meet later at the church. Damon and I head home.

* * *

We walk through the door to the boarding house.

"Oh thank god!" Jenna says, walking over with Scarlett in her arms. "Is Elena okay too?"

"She's fine. Stefan has taken her home" I reply, taking Scarlett from her.

"I've missed you baby girl" I say, holding her tight.

"Thank you for bringing Scarlett here and looking after her for us" Damon says to Jenna.

"You two look exhausted. Have you slept? Eaten?"

We both shake our heads.

"I'll go make some food, then I think we need sleep" Damon says. He kisses both of us then heads to kitchen, via the basement for blood bags.

"He was frantic with worry last night" Jenna says to me.

"I can imagine. It will all be over tonight"

I explain about Anna and why she kidnapped the 3 of us, and that we're going to get Pearl out so she'll leave us alone.

"I said I will help, it's a powerful spell so 3 witches are better than 2."

"And no doubt Damon will want to be there to make sure nothing happens to you?"

"Yep, you got it."

"I'll stay here with Scarlett. I feel safer here knowing Anna hasn't been invited in to this house."

I nod in response, then Damon calls us to the kitchen to eat.

Once we have eaten Jenna takes Scarlett and tells us both to get some sleep. We head upstairs to our room.

"I need a shower" I say.

"So do I, we could save the planet and shower together?" Damon says with a smirk. I roll my eyes at him and kiss him.

"Something tells me you have ideas other than getting clean" I say. He just smirks in response and heads to the shower.

I follow and we get in together. He washes my hair and then washes my body. When I try to return the favour he won't let me.

"You were kidnapped. Let me look after you."

Once we're clean he turns me around and starts kissing me. It doesn't take long to get heated. He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He moves so my back is pressed against the shower wall with his hands under my thighs. He thrusts into me and I moan in pleasure.

It doesn't take long for us to reach our climaxes together. He puts me down, turns off the water and hands me a towel. We dry off, and get in bed before falling asleep wrapped in each others arms.

* * *

We wake up a few hours later. I turn around to look at Damon. He looks at me and smiles.

"You need my blood in case something happens tonight" he says. "It's been 24 hours since we last shared blood, mine will be out of your system."

I nod, and tilt my head so he can access my neck. He bites gently and takes a few mouthfuls before pulling away. He bites his wrist and holds it to my mouth. I take a few mouthfuls and let go, then his mouth is on mine, kissing me. We end up having sex again before finally getting up and dressed.

We head downstairs and find Jenna in the parlour with Scarlett. We spend some time with our Daughter before heading to the church. When we arrive everyone is already there.

"Brother, witches, doppelganger" Damon says with a smile.

We all head down into the tomb of the church.

"Are we ready?" I ask.

"I think so" Bonnie replies.

"Air. Earth. Fire." Grams says, as she lights torches.

"Water." Bonnie says, sprinkling water onto the ground.

"That's it? Just water from the tap?" Elena asks.

"As opposed to what?" I chuckle.

"I just figured maybe it would have to be blessed or mystical or something."

I see Damon unravelling a blood bag.

"What's that?" Stefan asks.

"It's for Pearl. Gotta have something to get her going. Unless your girl's offering a vein to tap." he says with a chuckle.

Stefan smiles in response, knowing Damon is just teasing him.

"We're ready" Bonnie says.

I hold hands with the two Bennett witches and we start chanting. The torches around us flare up, scaring Elena. She grabs onto Stefan."What's happening?"

The door to the tomb creaks open.

"We did it" Bonnie gasps.

"Of course we did" Grams says with a smile.

"We have some fires to build" Damon says to Stefan, who leaves the tomb to get what he needs.

"May I?" Damon says to me, holding out his arm.

I take it and we walk into the tomb and begin searching.

"I'm going to find Katherine whilst we're in here and stake her" he says. I smile in response.

We make our way through the tomb and find Pearl. Damon leaves me so he can look for Katherine whilst I feed Pearl the blood bag. Anna shows up and knocks me to the side, causing me to shout.

"We opened this damn tomb to give you what you want, even after you kidnapped us." I say. "Least you could do is be grateful."

"Thank you" she replies, and she leads Pearl out as Stefan comes running in.

"I heard you shout" he says.

"I'm fine" I reply. "Damon is looking for Katherine. He's going to stake her."

"Come on, let's get out of here" he says.

We head to the entrance but Stefan is unable to leave.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"We mustn't have been strong enough to break the seal, only the door is opened." Grams replies.

"We need to get them out!" I say, with tears in my eyes. "Channel me, I'll draw on my different powers. We can do this. We can't leave Damon and Stefan in there."

Bonnie and Grams both look at me and nod.

We hold hands and begin to chant again. The torches flare up again and Anna leaves with Pearl.

"It's working" I gasp.

"Stefan, you need to get Damon" I say. He nods and runs back in the tomb.

The torches start to go out as our strength starts to falter.

"Damon!" I shout. Suddenly Damon and Stefan appear, making it out of the tomb just as the door closes and I collapse from channeling so much power. Damon vamps over and catches me.

"Imogen!" he shouts as I pass out.

I wake up a while later laid in our bed.

"Imogen, you're okay" Damon says with relief, pulling me into his arms.

"I'm just tired. And hungry. I didn't realise channeling so much power at once would be so exhausting." I say.

"I'll get you some food and then you can rest. Scarlett is asleep for the night and if she wakes I will take care of her." he says, kissing my head. I nod.

He disappears and comes back a few minutes later with a sandwich and glass of apple juice. I start eating.

"Katherine wasn't in there" he tells me.

My eyes widen. "She wasn't?"

"Nope. She never was. She could have found me any time, but she didn't. Anna said she saw her in Chicago in '83. She knew where I was. She just didn't care. I wasted 144 pining after that bitch." he seethes in anger.

I cup his face and turn it so our eyes meet.

"Hey. I know it sucks, but she never deserved you. Just think about what we have now. I love you, and I always will. You and me. Forever."

He stares me in the eyes for several long moments, then nods.

"You and me, forever. I love you."

I finish eating and we fall asleep quickly after a long couple of days.


	16. I Belong To You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update. We got a puppy so my spare time has been consumed with her. Hope you like the chapter, let me know!
> 
> I own nothing TVD related.

**December 13th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Say You'll Haunt Me; Stone Sour**

_Say you want to stay, you want me to_

_Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me_

_I want to know I belong to you_

_Say you'll haunt me_

**Imogen's POV**

When I wake the next morning it's late. Damon isn't in bed with me, and he's not in the bedroom or bathroom. I stretch before heading to the bathroom, then I head downstairs. I find Damon in the kitchen with Jeremy, Jenna and Scarlett.

"You should have woke me up" I say, giving Scarlett a kiss on the head before going over to Damon, who is stood leaning against the kitchen counter. I wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his chest.

"You needed the rest" he tells me as he wraps his arms around me. "I was worried about you last night."

"I'm fine" I say.

"You weren't last night" Damon says with a furrowed brow.

"It was the first time I accessed all my types of magic at the same time. I didn't realise how much it would take out of me."

"Then you shouldn't have done it."

"I couldn't leave you and Stefan stuck in that tomb!" I say, with tears in my eyes.

"And we're grateful" Stefan says as he enters the kitchen, followed by Elena.

Damon sighs and kisses my head. "I can't lose you."

"I would have come back. You know that."

He was the one who insisted I have his blood just in case something happened. He sighs and kisses my head again.

"Mr Henry will be here in 30 minutes" Stefan tells Damon. He nods.

"You best get dressed" he tells me.

"Who is Mr Henry?" I ask.

"Our notary. We're transferring the house into your name, remember?"

"Gotcha. I'll go get dressed" I say, and head upstairs.

When I get downstairs after showering and dressing Mr Henry has arrived. He shows me the paperwork and where to sign whilst Damon and Stefan wait outside.

"I can't believe they're giving you the house" Jeremy says.

"They're not giving it me, just putting it in my name so only I can invite a certain type of person in." I reply.

"Wouldn't like to clean it" Aunt Jenna chuckles.

I finish signing the paperwork and show Mr Henry out. I turn around and walk back in, however the invisible barrier stops Damon and Stefan.

"Imz?" Damon says. I stop and turn round.

"Oh sorry! Damon, please come in" I say. Damon comes in and walks over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I turn to Stefan.

"What are we, 12?" he asks.

"I sometimes think you are" I reply with a giggle. He rolls his eyes at me.

"Stefan, do you promise to stop always thinking the worst of your brother and will you work with him to get back the brotherly bond you had before Katherine ruined everything?"

Stefan looks between Damon and I for a few moments.

"I promise" he says. "I've missed my big brother."

"In that case, Stefan, please come in" I say, and he comes into the house.

"Well it's official, the only Vampires that can come in the house are Stefan and I" Damon says.

"Our very own safe house" I say with a smile.

We spend the rest of the day with our family, just relaxing so I can rest after the night before. We talk about Christmas and we decide to have everyone over Christmas Eve for dinner. Damon even agrees that we can get a tree and decorate the house. He tells us that before they turned it was his and Stefan's favourite holiday, but they've not celebrated it since they were human. This year is bittersweet for me. It's the first without our parents, but it's also the first with the love of my life and our baby girl.

* * *

**December 24th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The last couple of weeks have been busy. We've been shopping, decorating, preparing for Christmas. The boarding house has a large tree in the parlour, and a smaller one in the dining room.

Today we are having everyone over for dinner. Tomorrow Damon says he has a special surprise so it will just be the 3 of us. He's disappeared a few times over the last couple of weeks and has refused to tell me where he's been. I wonder what he's hiding.

We're in the kitchen, with Scarlett in her high chair, cooking dinner. Everyone will arrive in an hour and we're looking forward to having everyone together.

"Can you check on the Turkey please?" I ask.

"Of course" Damon replies, kissing my head as he moves past me to the oven.

I'm getting vegetables prepared ready to cook. Once he's checked on the Turkey Damon comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I love you, more than anything" he murmurs in my ear.

"More than our daughter?" I ask.

"Hmmmm, joint first" he replies, kissing my neck.

"I love you. Joint first with Scarlett too" I reply, then turn my head to kiss him.

Damon turns me round and deepens the kiss, pinning me between himself and the counter. He pulls away after a couple of minutes, both of us panting.

"Why did we invite everyone over, I just want to take you upstairs" he whines.

"Because it's Christmas" I reply with a chuckle. We go back to cooking the food whilst Scarlett babbles and plays in her high chair.

An hour later and everyone starts to arrive. Elena and Stefan arrive first, having been out for the day, followed by Aunt Jenna and Jeremy shortly after.

"Stef, can you help us bring the food through?" I ask.

"Of course" he replies.

I sit Scarlett in her high chair and leave her with Aunt Jenna, Elena and Jeremy whilst I help Damon and Stefan bring everything through. Once it is all laid out we take our seats and dig in.

We have a great evening, with lots of laughs. Eventually we all head to bed. Damon and I put Scarlett to bed in her room and head to our room. I flop down on the bed. Damon chuckles and lies down next to me.

"I had a great time tonight. It was so nice to have us all here having a meal and enjoying ourselves."

"I enjoyed it too. It's the first time Stefan and I have celebrated since we were human. If I had been told a year ago I would be spending Christmas Eve with my soulmate and our beautiful baby girl I would never have believed it. Yes, you were on my mind but I never thought things would turn out like this."

"A year ago I was still in denial, refusing to believe I was even pregnant, despite the tests I had done being positive. I was scared, so scared. I was 18, months away from graduating high school, my parents were on at me about college and I just wanted to hide from the world. I couldn't even remember who you were. Now I have a beautiful daughter and you, my soulmate, and I truly couldn't be happier. I love you, Damon Salvatore. With all my heart."

"I love you, Imogen Gilbert, with all _my_ heart."

Damon kisses me then stands up and pulls me with him. "Let's get ready for bed" he says with a wink. We get ready for bed and we spend the next couple of hours making love before falling asleep with our bodies entwined.

* * *

**December 25th 2009, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The following morning I wake up early, but without the usual arm around my waist. I roll over to find I'm alone in bed. I feel a little disappointed to wake up on Christmas morning alone.

I get out of bed and put my pyjamas on before going to Scarlett's nursery. I find she isn't there either, so I head downstairs. There's no one in the parlour so I go into the kitchen. I finally find Scarlett in her high chair chewing on some toast and Damon cooking breakfast.

He looks at me when I walk in.

"You were supposed to still be asleep, we were making you breakfast in bed" he pouts.

"And everyone thinks you're a big bad Vampire" I say, giving him a kiss.

"I am" he replies. I chuckle and sit at the table with Scarlett. He brings our plates over once the food is ready and takes a seat.

"Happy Christmas" he says.

"Happy Christmas" I reply. "This is perfect. Breakfast on Christmas morning with my favourite Vampire and our baby. I am a lucky girl."

"I'm the lucky one, to have found you and be spending Christmas with my favourite witch and our beautiful daughter." Damon replies.

After breakfast we go into the parlour and open our gifts. I had bought Damon a new watch and some clothes, and he had bought me some clothes and a charm bracelet with a pink baby handprint charm and a heart charm with 'Mommy' engraved on it.

"Thank you Damon" I say, giving him a kiss.

"And thank you" he replies. "Now, go and get ready for your surprise. I'll get Scarlett ready."

"Okay" I say, and head upstairs to shower and get dressed.

When I get back downstairs Damon and Scarlett are waiting for me.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"You'll see" he replies with a smirk.

We get into his car and he starts driving.

A little while later we arrive at the falls parking lot.

"What are we doing here?" I ask.

"You'll see" he replies, getting Scarlett from the back of the car. He leads up to the top of the falls, and I see a picnic blanket laid out with a picnic basket.

"Damon! It's the middle of winter" I say.

"Trust me" he replies. I nod.

We go and sit down and Damon gets the food out. There is champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, fresh fruit, sandwich meats, cheeses and fresh bread. We eat in a comfortable silence, but I can tell Damon is nervous about something. I've only ever seen him nervous once before, which was the day he told me he was a Vampire.

Just as we finish eating, it starts to snow, giving the atmosphere a magical feel. I look up at the sky in wonder. I stand up and walk over to look out over the falls. It is beautiful with the snow lightly falling all around.

Damon comes over and gives Scarlett to me. I see she has a small box in her hand.

"What's this?"I ask.

"Open it" Damon replies.

I take the box from Scarlett and open it. I gasp at what I see.

Inside is a heart shaped pendant, which is engraved with:

_'Mommy, will you marry Daddy?'_

I look over at Damon. He goes down onto one knee and holds up a small box containing a platinum diamond solitaire ring.

"Imogen Rose Gilbert, I never thought after becoming a Vampire I would ever get the family I always wanted when I was human, but you have given that to me. I am so grateful that I met you at that party. You and Scarlett are my entire world, my reasons for existing. You've given my life purpose again, and you make me want to be a better person. You are my humanity, Imogen, you ground me. You are the light in what is otherwise a very dark world. I love you with everything I am, and I always will. You are my rock, my soulmate. I want you to be by my side. Forever. Would you do me the honour of marrying me?"

I look at him with tears in my eyes, shocked at his speech. I nod.

"Yes" I whisper. Scarlett is looking down at Damon babbling "da-da-da-da, ma-ma-ma-ma"

Damon's eyes widen and his eyes become shiny with unshed tears with my response. He takes the ring and slides it on to my ring finger. He then stands up and wraps his arms around us both, before kissing me softly.

"You have made me the happiest man alive" he says.

"You have made me the happiest girl alive" I reply.

Damon gets two glasses of champagne and hands one to me.

"To us" he says, holding his glass up in a toast.

"To us" I reply.

We pack up the picnic things shortly after and head home. We find Stefan and Elena in the parlour.

"Where have you been?" Elena asks.

"Damon took us out" I reply.

He kisses the side of my head. We go to sit down and Elena notices the ring on my finger.

"OH MY GOD! Immy is that what I think it is?" she squeals, grabbing my hand.

I nod in response.

"Congratulations!" she squeals again as she hugs us.

"Congratulations" Stefan sats, coming over and hugging us both too.

"When is the wedding?" Elena asks.

"We haven't decided yet" I say with a smile. "We're going to tell Aunt Jenna and Jeremy tomorrow"

We spend a couple of hours chatting with our siblings before heading upstairs to put Scarlett to bed. We then head to bed ourselves.

"When do you want to get married?" I ask Damon as we lie in bed after making love. His arms are wrapped around me and he's drawing patterns on my back.

"I don't mind, but I'd rather not wait too long, I've waited 150 years to find the girl I want to spend the rest of my life and build a family with" he replies.

"How about the summer?" I reply.

"Sounds good to me."

"Do you think we could have the wedding here? I think the back yard would be perfect in the summer."

"I think that would be perfect."

"It wouldn't be a big wedding anyway, I just want our family and friends there. The list isn't particularly long. For me it would literally be Aunt Jenna, Jeremy, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline."

"There's no one I would want to add to that list except Bonnie's grams." I nod in response.

"Of course, she has been a big help to us."

"Think you can plan a wedding in 6 or 7 months?"

"I'll speak to Caroline, Bonnie and Elena tomorrow after we've told Jeremy and Aunt Jenna. They will help me, organising events is Caroline's thing" I say. Damon nods and pulls me closer to him. We drift off to sleep the happiest we've been in a long time.


	17. Blinded By The Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left Kudos.
> 
> I don't own anything TVD related.

**January 8th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song:** **Blinding Lights; The Weeknd**

_I look around and_

_Sin City's cold and empty (Oh)_

_No one's around to judge me (Oh)_

_I can't see clearly when you're gone_

_I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights_

_No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch_

_I said, ooh, I'm drowning in the night_

_Oh, when I'm like this, you're the one I trust_

_Hey, hey, hey_

**Damon's POV**

The last couple of weeks have been quiet. I'm still amazed that Imogen is now my fiancée. She has been busy planning things with Elena, Caroline and Bonnie. We told Jenna and Jeremy the day after I proposed, they were surprised at first, but we explained about the soulmate bond and that there will never be anyone else romantically for either of us, and they understood.

I'm sitting in the library reading and enjoying a glass of bourbon whilst Imogen is at college and Scarlett at daycare when Stefan comes in.

"Can we talk?" he asks.

"Yeah" I reply.

"There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel, in North Carolina at Duke." he says.

"You wanna discuss the women in my past right now? Seriously? I've just got engaged to the love of my life."

"You killed her."

"What's your point Stefan? I had the switch off. You know that."

"I just... I just wanna know if you remember anything about her." he says.

"It's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan. Switch was off, I did a lot of things I shouldn't."

"Well, think hard. It's important." he tells me.

"The only important thing right now is that I have a lunch date with my beautiful fiancée" I say and head to the Grill to meet Imogen after college.

I head to the bar and take a seat next to the new history teacher.

"Bourbon" I say to the bartender. He pours me a glass and pushes it over.

"Behold the teacher. Don't you have some papers to grade?" I say to him.

"It's, uh, more fun with a buzz." he replies.

"Well, most things in life are. Sober can be depressing at times."

"You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed." he says. He has no clue. I'm happy now, but that doesn't mean I haven't been depressed in the past.

"You say that like you know me." I say.

"Nope. Just a hunch." he replies. He finishes his drink and gets up to leave. "You have a good afternoon."

"Very likely. I'm meeting my fiancée" I reply with a smirk. He leaves.

I sit there a few minutes longer when the Sheriff comes over.

"Daytime drinking, huh?" she says.

"It's all the rage." I reply with a chuckle.

"Listen, I need a favour." she says.

"What's that?" I ask.

"There's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is throwing. The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates, and, well, we're short a bachelor."

"Is this what you do when there's no, um...Vampires? Organise bachelor raffles?" I say with a chuckle.

"Oh, trust me. At this point, I miss the vampires. Look, you're a hero to this town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are, and I know you're not single, but I don't think Imogen would mind. Oh, come on, help me out. Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed." she begs.

"You know, a room full of women clamouring to win a date with me? I think she might mind."

"Mind what" a voice says from behind the Sheriff. I look up to see Imogen. I give her a quick kiss.

"Sheriff Forbes here wants me to be one of the bachelors auctioned off at tonight's fundraiser" I tell Imogen, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Hmmm" she hums. "You're not single though."

"I know he's not, but it's for a good cause" Sheriff Forbes says to her.

 _'Can you make sure I win?'_ she thinks to me.

 _'Of course I can'_ I reply.

"I guess I'll just have to buy plenty of tickets" she says with a sigh.

"Thank you." Sheriff Forbes says.

"One thing. Can you get information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher. There's just something a little off about him, and I just... I just wanna make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy." I ask.

"You got it." she replies.

"Thanks." I say and the Sheriff leaves.

"Let's grab a table" I say, standing up. We head over to a table and take our seats.

We order food and drinks when the waitress comes over.

"You still thinking there's something going on with the history teacher?" she asks me.

"Yeah, that's why I asked the Sheriff to see what she can find out" I say. She nods in response.

Once we've eaten she heads to daycare to pick up Scarlett and I head home.

I have a few drinks quickly as I decide I'm going to need to be buzzed to go through with being auctioned off.

Imogen and Scarlett arrive home soon after. Imogen walks into the bedroom and puts Scarlett in the crib as I walk out of the bathroom with just my jeans on, hung low on my hips.

"You need to put a shirt on or we'll be very late" she says, heading to the closet so she can get changed herself. I go up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist.

"How buzzed are you, my alcoholic Vampire?" she asks as I nuzzle her neck.

"Nicely buzzed" I reply. I let her go and grab a shirt. I pretend I'm too drunk to do the buttons.

"Help a guy out, will you? Can't get this."

She rolls her eyes at me but comes over to fasten the buttons anyway. I rest my hands on her hips as she does.

"Elena found out who her birth mother is" she tells me.

"Euch. Who cares. She left her. Like yours left you. They suck" I reply. She gives me a small smile.

"I'll meet you at the Grill. Stefan wants to talk to me" I tell her after hearing Stefan saying my name. Vamp hearing. Imogen gives me a kiss before grabbing Scarlett and heading out.

I head downstairs a couple of minutes later.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you." Stefan says. He pulls out a picture and shows it to me. "This is the woman, Isobel, from North Carolina. Remember her now?"

I do recognise her. She sought me out a couple of years ago and begged me to turn her into a Vampire.

"Who wants to know?" I ask.

"I do." he replies. I don't believe him.

"Who else wants to know?"

"Did you kill her?" he replies, avoiding my question.

"Sorry. Don't know her." If he won't be honest with me I won't be honest with him. I thought we were past this.

I walk past him towards the door. "Hey, are you coming? The Real Housewives of Mystic Falls await." I say, and walk out.

I arrive at the Grill and find Imogen. We're chatting when Sheriff Forbes comes in and motions to me to go over. I follow her with Imogen.

"I ran the check on the history teacher. You want this before or after your big debut?" she says.

"How's it look?" I ask. She hands me a folder and I look through it.

"He checks out. Couple of speeding tickets. It's a rough story, though. Turns out his wife went missing a few years back in North Carolina."

"North Carolina? She have a name?" I ask.

"Yeah. Isobel." The same name Stefan was asking me about.

The Sheriff flicks to a page with a photo of Isobel.

"Isobel." I say quietly. "Thank you Sheriff."

I lead Imogen outside. "Stefan has been asking me about an Isobel he thinks I killed in North Carolina a couple years ago. Alaric's wife was called Isobel. She was at Duke, in North Carolina. I recognise her picture."

"Did you kill her?"

"Sorta. I turned her. She looked for me and begged me to do it"

"Elena's birth Mom was called Isobel. She is sure it was Alaric's wife." she tells me.

"Great. I turned your sister's birth Mom into a Vampire" I say with a sigh.

"You didn't know who she was. You didn't know us at the time either."

"I know" I sigh. I pull Imogen close and press my lips to hers. I'm feeling guilty for turning Elena's Mom and being close with my soulmate always helps to ground me when my feelings threaten to become too much. Kissing her is a lot safer for the town than how I used to deal with my feelings - by drinking lots of alcohol and eating people.

After a few minutes of making out we pull apart, both of us panting.

"We best get inside. I have tickets to buy. Make sure I win" she says. I nod in response and head inside.

I'm lined up with the other bachelors, making faces at Scarlett who is giggling at me. She is sat on Imogen's knee, and they are at a table in front of us with Jenna, Elena and Stefan.

"And what do you do, Bachelor Number 3?" Carol Lockwood asks.

"Yeah, I'm a plumber." he replies

"Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on. Number 4, "Alaric Saltzman." Wow. That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?" Carol says.

"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." Alaric replies.

"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper. What do you teach?"

"History."

"History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy."

"Uh, well..." Alaric says, obviously struggling to come up with anything. Carol pulls the microphone away from him.

"He's probably saving the best stories for his date." Carol says, moving on to me. "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."

Not much they can have, they can't know the truth.

"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card." I say.

"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?"

Hobbies. Don't think drinking people's blood and trying to keep my fiancée in bed as much as possible count.

"Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually." I say.

 _'Damon, behave. Don't be a dick to him'_ I hear in my head. I pull a face so Scarlett giggles again.

_'Fine, I'll keep quiet. Can we go home yet and finish what we started outside?'_

_'You have a one track mind, Salvatore'_

_'And you love it, Gilbert'_

I see her roll her eyes at me but she doesn't reply.

A few minutes later Carol Lockwood is drawing the raffle for the winners.

"And bachelor number 3 goes to 37458." Carol says.

"That's me." Kelly Donovan says.

"Ah. Kelly Donovan. Lovely." she says with sarcasm, handing Kelly the winning ticket. "You and the plumber should have so much fun."

I see Stefan and Elena head outside. I wonder if they figured out that I was involved in Alaric's wife's 'death'. From the looks I'm getting, I know he's figured it out.

"Bachelor number 4 goes to 37649."

"That's me." Jenna says, raising her hand, beaming.

"Congratulations." Carol says, handing her the ticket.

"And bachelor number 5, Damon Salvatore. 37552."

"That's me" Imogen says, coming over and taking her ticket. I walk over to her.

"So where we going on our date?" she asks.

"Home to bed" I reply, doing the eye thing.

"That's not a date, Damon" she says with a laugh.

"Get someone to look after Scarlett tomorrow and we will go somewhere for dinner" I tell her. She nods in response.

We head home shortly after as we can see Scarlett is getting tired. Imogen takes her upstairs to put her to bed. I head into the parlour to make a drink when I sense Alaric coming in.

"Are you really this stupid?" I ask, then turn around to see Alaric with a stake. He doesn't reply.

"Guess so." I mutter before taking a drink running over to him before throwing him across the room. Alaric stands up and takes a fighting stance.

"You gonna put down the stake?" I ask.

He doesn't reply and remains in his fighting stance.

"Wow. That's courage." I say. I hear Imogen starting to come down the stairs.

"Where's Isobel? What have you done to my wife?" he asks.

"You want me to tell you I killed her? Would that make you happy? Because I think you know what happened." I reply.

"I saw you feeding on her."

"Yeah, I did feed on her. She was delicious" I say as Imogen enters the room. She raises her eyebrows at me.

"Oh, come on. What do you think happened? Not an inkling? Never considered the possibility?"

He looks at me.

"I turned her." I say simply.

"Why?" he asks.

"She came to me, looking for vampires. Begged me to turn her."

"She begged you?" he asks me incredulously.

"Yes, she begged me" I reply.

He rushes at me with the stake. Before I can react I hear Imogen say _'motus'_ and Alaric is pinned against the wall.

"What are you?" Alaric asks Imogen.

"I'm a witch. And I'm not having you try to kill my soulmate. Especially not when our daughter is asleep upstairs." she tells him.

"I know Jenna said Damon is Scarlett's father, but he's a Vampire. That's not possible."

"It's very possible. If I let you down will you please not try to kill him? It won't end well for you and I know Aunt Jenna really likes you."

He nods in response. Imogen let's him down and we all sit down on the couches.

"What do you know?" I ask, taking Imogen's hand and entwining our fingers.

"I know Vampires are real. I know how to kill one" he says, glaring at me.

"How do you know" I ask.

"Isobel studied paranormal activity at Duke. She researched into all the folklore and legends surrounding anything supernatural. She told me about Vampires and that they are real. She didn't tell me about anything else though. Especially not witches."

"I'm not a Gilbert. I'm adopted. I come from a powerful lineage of witches." Imogen tells him.

"Is that how you were able to have a baby with a Vampire?" he asks. She shakes her head no.

"No. We were able to have a baby because we're soulmates. I'll go more into it when I can trust you. I'm sure you understand that the fact you came here to kill Damon doesn't really give me much trust in you." Imogen says.

"Does Jenna know, about the supernatural?" he asks.

"Yes, she does. She knows everything. I suggest you tell her about Isobel, as she's Elena's Mom you never know when she might show up. It's best to be honest with her." He nods.

"Listen, I get why you're upset about Isobel. She begged me. I never knew she had a husband. I probably should have asked, but at the time I didn't really care about anything." I say.

"And you care now?" he asks.

"Yes. Since meeting Imogen my whole world has shifted. It's part of the soulmate thing."

"I get the feeling there's a lot you're not telling me."

"There is, but we can't tell you until we can trust you. I'm sure you can see why we have issues trusting you right now." Imogen says. He nods in response.

"I won't try to kill him again. And I will tell Jenna the truth about Isobel, now I know it myself."

We say our goodbyes. Alaric leaves and we head to our room.

"Did you see the ring he was wearing?" Imogen asks me.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It was the same as my Dad used to have. I'm sure I've read about it in one of the Gilbert ancestors journals. I think it brings a person back to life if they're killed by a supernatural being. I will have to find the journal tomorrow and double check."

"That's interesting." I reply.

"Let's get to bed" she says with a wink.

I smirk and pick her up before throwing her on the bed and climbing on top of her. We start to make out and it isn't long before our clothes are gone and we're having sex. It never fails to amaze me how incredible sex with her is. Every single time.

Once we're both sated I wrap my arms around her. I honestly don't think I could sleep if she wasn't wrapped in my arms. I can't wait to marry this amazing girl.


	18. A Little Bit Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has left Kudos and commented. Kudos and comments make me want to write more!

**January 9th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: A Little Bit Off; Five Finger Death Punch**

_I'm a little pissed off today and there ain't nothing you can do about it_

_I'm a little bit put off today and I could not tell you why_

_Got a really short fuse today and everyone around me's fucking crazy_

_I'm a little ticked off today, a little pissed off today_

_(I'm a little bit off today)_

**Imogen's POV**

The following morning I wake up to the sound of Scarlett babbling over the baby monitor.

"I'll get her" Damon says and he climbs out of bed to go and get her.

Once we're all up, fed and dressed, we head to the Gilbert house so I can go through the journal. I find the entry I was looking for, which confirms if the wearer of the Gilbert ring dies at the hands of supernatural being they will come back to life. There's also two of them. We know Alaric has one, and I'm sure 'Uncle John' has the other.

We also see Elena, who now knows that Damon turned her birth Mom into a Vampire and is less than impressed with Damon over it.

"Elena, he didn't know she was your Mom!" I exclaim after she spent 10 minutes ranting about how Damon is bad and I shouldn't be with him.

"He's bad, Immy! A monster! And you're marrying him!"

"It was 2 years ago, Elena. Before he came here. Before he met me. When his humanity was off. Not to mention she found him and begged to be turned. I get you're upset she's a Vampire, but you can't be mad at Damon when it was her fucking choice!"

I stormed out of the house after that, followed by a rather bemused Damon who was carrying Scarlett.

When we get home I'm still angry.

"Come on" Damon says. "Get changed into something beautiful. We're going on a family date."

I get changed and also change Scarlett too. The 3 of us go out for a meal at a nice restaurant.

* * *

**January 15th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia.**

**Damon's POV**

It's Friday, so Imogen is at college this morning and then I'll meet her at the Grill for lunch whilst Scarlett is still at daycare. It's a routine we have fallen into, which usually leads to an afternoon in bed. I'm definitely not complaining.

I'm in the library reading when there is a knock at the door. I open it to see Pearl and Anna stood there.

"Hello Damon." Pearl says. "Can we come in?"

"Nope" I reply. "The only one that could invite you in isn't here."

"Then I suggest you step outside" Pearl says.

"Gladly" I say, and vamp over to her, wrapping my hands around her throat. She grabs hold of my wrist, twists it, and throws me to the ground.

Pearl and Anna take a seat on the wall. "Have a seat, Damon. I was hoping we could have a word."

I sigh and take a seat on the wall. "Sure."

"The Vampires that were in the tomb are all out. We've taken up residence at a farmhouse just outside the town. It'll suffice for now." she tells me.

"All 25 vampires?"

"Not all, some. I imagine that a few have already left town. Others are probably still in the woods or like us acclimating." Pearl says.

"How did they get out of the tomb?" I ask.

"I think the witches screwed up that part of their hocus pocus." Anna says.

"I understand from Anna that the founding families still have a secret council?" Pearl asks.

"And you're a part of it." Anna says.

"That's ridiculous." I say, trying to throw them off.

"I've been in Mystic Falls since the comet, Damon. I'm up to speed." Anna tells me.

And so am I. And now that you've infiltrated the council, I'll need to know everything they know. Starting with a list of names of all the council members and their families." Pearl says.

"And everyone you've supplied with vervain." Anna adds.

Pearl nods. "Yes, that will have to stop immediately."

"What exactly are you trying to achieve?" I ask.

"Mystic Falls is our home, Damon. They took that from us. Our land, our home. It's time we rebuild." Pearl says.

"What, are you crazy? It was 1864. Wake up woman. The world has moved on."

"As a reward for your help I'm willing to give you what you want most."

"I want nothing."

"Katherine."

"Firstly, You wouldn't even know where she was. You've been under the ground for the last century and a half. Secondly, considering you supposedly know everything, you'll know I couldn't give a crap about Katherine. I'm engaged to someone else."

"Ahh yes. The soulmate. You know Katherine and I were best friends long before we came to Mystic Falls, Damon. I know how she thinks, I know her patterns, I know where to find her. I know you want revenge for what she did."

"I've told you, I no longer have any desire to see Katherine ever again. And there's no way in hell I'm gonna play the role of your little minion."

Pearl stands up and moves in front of me. "I'm not asking for your help, Damon. Finding Katherine was just a mere gesture of kindness. The rest is non-negotiable. It would be a shame if anything happened to Imogen or Scarlett now wouldn't it?"

She then pushes her thumbs into my eyes and throws me to the ground.

"I have four hundred years on you, little boy. I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking and you know it. I'll be in touch."

I hear them leave. I groan in pain and drag myself to my feet. I make my way inside and to the basement to get some blood, before going to the parlour.

I send Imogen a text message.

_**Hey babe, can you come home instead of meeting me at the Grill? xo ~ Damon** _

_**Sure. I'll be home soon xo ~ Imogen** _

I lie back on the sofa and wait for her.

I hear her car pull up a short while later. She comes in the house and I hear her walk into the parlour.

"Oh my god Damon, what happened to you?" she says when she sees the blood down my face.

I explain what happened with Pearl and Anna. She gets a cloth and wipes the blood from my face, and then she lies on the sofa with me, resting her head on my chest.

My eyes are healing but they're still sore so I close them and bury my nose in Imogen's hair, letting her vanilla scent wash over me.

We must have fallen asleep because I wake up to the sound of Stefan's voice.

"Well don't you two look cute, sleeping on the sofa together."

Imogen stirs too, and looks up at me.

"We didn't intend to fall asleep Stef. What time is it?"

"It's nearly 5pm. Thought I best wake you as I'm assuming Scarlett is still at daycare?"

"Yes she is, thanks Stef." Imogen says.

He leaves the room and goes upstairs. I sigh and gently kiss Imogen's forehead.

"We should move. You never had lunch, I bet you're starving. Do you want to meet me at the Grill after you pick Scarlett up?"

"Yeah, food would be good." she replies. She moves so she straddling me which instantly makes me hard. She presses her lips against mine and gives me a slow, lingering kiss. Then she gets up.

"You're such a tease" I groan.

"I know" she replies with a smirk.

"Just wait until later" I growl. She laughs and bends down to kiss me quickly.

"I'll see you at the Grill" she says, and heads out to pick up Scarlett.

* * *

I walk into the Grill and head to the bar. I'm here before Imogen, so I'll grab a drink whilst I wait for her.

There's a woman sat next to me, I remember her as Kelly Donovan from the bachelor auction.

"What's with the glasses inside?" she asks. She's obviously flirting.

"My eyes are a little sensitive today." I tell her, taking them off.

"You're new around here." she says.

"On the contrary, I'm very old."

"Bourbon, neat." I order from the bartender.

"I haven't been gone that long. I would remember someone who looked like you."

"Yeah. Where did you go?" I ask.

"Around, about."

Helpful answer. "I've been there."

"I love to see a man drown his sorrows. It's so sexy." she flirts.

"It's more like nursing my wounds. And you?" I reply. I'm bored of her flirting.

"I was supposed to be interviewing for the bartender job but I think the manager blew me off." she says.

"Well, that's not very nice."

"Yeah. Last time I was in town I slept with her boyfriend."

"That's not very nice either." I say with a raised eyebrow.

"It happens."

I shrug in response. I hope Imogen arrives soon.

Jenna walks in and comes over to the bar.

"Kelly? Kelly Donovan?" she exclaims.

"Jenna!" Kelly returns, and the hug each other.

"Hey Damon" she says with a smile. I respond with a small wave.

She turns back to Kelly. "I heard you were back in town. She used to babysit me." she says to me.

"And then I used to party with her." Kelly responds.

"This woman is crazy." Jenna says with a laugh.

"Not as crazy as you." Kelly replies

"I'm not anymore." Jenna replies.

"Well sit, drink!" Kelly says.

"I shouldn't. I'm more responsible now. Haven't you heard?"

"Well, take a night off its good for the soul." Kelly tells her.

Imogen walks in then and comes over to us. I take Scarlett from her and press my lips to hers in a lingering kiss. I can feel Kelly's eyes on us as I do.

"This is not going to end well." Jenna says as her and Kelly raise their glasses to each other.

"Don't be grumpy. It can't be that bad." Jenna says to me.

"You'd be surprised. My primary reasons for existing have been threatened and after today's events, the remains of the shakey ground that I walk on are about to go kaboom."

Imogen wraps her arms around me and Scarlett babbles from my lap.

"Let's get hammered" Kelly says.

Imogen orders food. I see Stefan on his double date with Elena, Matt and Caroline. I ignore them and concentrate on my girls.

A little while later Imogen shows me a text that Elena sent her.

_**That man over there just called me Katherine ~ Elena** _

Stefan and I look for him but don't find him anywhere. I go back to my seat and take hold of Scarlett again.

I start playing with a cherry and decide to flirt with Imogen.

"So, the thing about cherries, you have to..." I start to say, but am cut off when Imogen puts her fingers on my lips. She takes the cherry and puts it in her mouth, and a few seconds later holds the tied stem between her lips.

"Oh my goodness." I breathe, taking the stem from her lips with mine. "That's amazing, you were fast."

"That would be my cue." Jenna says. "Engaged or not, I don't need to see my niece getting flirty with her Fiancé"

"You're giving up already?" Kelly asks her.

"Oh yeah." she replies. "See you guys."

Jenna leaves the bar.

"I think it's time we went home too" I tell Imogen.

"Definitely" she breathes.

We leave the Grill and head home.

"I'll be back down soon, I'm just going to put Scarlett to bed" she tells me.

I nod and head into the parlour to get a drink.

I hear Imogen come back downstairs and into the parlour. I vamp in front of her and press my lips to hers. She pushes me up against the wall and things start to get very heated.

"Imogen?" I hear someone say.

"Damon?"

We look up to see Matt and Caroline stood staring at us. Stefan and Elena walk in behind them.

Matt's phone rings.

_'Hey Mom, where are you?'_ he says. There's a pause whilst Kelly responds to him. _'I'll be right there.'_

"I got to..." he starts.

Caroline interrupts him. "It's fine, just go."

Imogen and head to one of the sofas whilst Stefan sees Elena and Caroline out. I sit down and she straddles me, leaning down to kiss him.

Stefan walks back in and looks at us.

"Don't look at me like that." I say.

"Are you crazy? You two have a room."

"Save the lecture. Look..."

I'm interrupted by a brick coming through the window. We all look at each other for a second before all dashing outside. Stefan is stabbed by the male with a large shard of glass from the broken window. I vamp over and push the Vampire off him, and I start to fight him. I recognise him as Frederick from 1864.

I hear Imogen mutter 'motus' and then Frederick goes flying across the yard. I see Stefan remove the glass and he is then attacked by a female Vampire who I also recognise from 1864 - Bethanne. I see her push him to the ground before Imogen sends her flying with her magic. Frederick is coming back to us so I throw him off and across the yard. I see Stefan grab a tree branch and when Bethanne comes back he stabs her. Frederick see's what has happened and disappears.

"Damn it" I curse. "I know they can't get in the house but go check on Scarlett" I tell Imogen. She nods and heads into the house.

"I remember them from 1864. They were in the tomb" Stefan says.

"Yeah, about that" I reply, dragging Bethanne's body into the house so we can burn her in the fireplace. "Could you help me out a little bit?"

Stefan sighs and comes over to help me. I explain the visit I received from Pearl and Anna. Once we're done we head to bed.


	19. I'm Seeing Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, here is the next chapter. There might be a wait for the next chapter, we've had the devastating news that my sister in law has passed away this morning due to complications caused by Covid. My proof reading may also be sloppier than usual so please forgive any typos or mistakes
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter and Damon and Imogen fighting together.
> 
> As usual I don't own anything TVD related, only my own OC's.

**January 16th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: I'm Seeing Red; State of Mine**

_I'm seeing red_

_Do or die, alive or dead_

_Hear the voice inside my head_

_Telling me this is not the end_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake the next morning with Damon's arms wrapped around me from behind. He has tight hold and I know he's holding on tighter than usual because Pearl threatened me and Scarlett yesterday. He even insisted Scarlett sleep in the crib in our room instead of in her own room last night after the visit from the two Vampires. I turn over to face him and wrap my arms around him before I rest my forehead against his and let out a contented sigh. I always feel the safest in his arms. I make a mental note to go see Grams today and practice some spells that can help in the fight against Vampires. I also need to finally pluck up the courage to ask about my parents.

I must have fallen back to sleep because I wake up to a lingering kiss being placed on my forehead. I open my eyes and meet Damon's blue ones.

"Morning" I mumble.

"Morning" he replies, then he nuzzles his head into my neck. I nuzzle my head into his, and we both lie there for several minutes just breathing in each others scent. We're eventually disturbed by the sound of Scarlett babbling from her crib. I climb out of bed and get her, changing her diaper and bringing her back to bed with us. She pulls at my tank top so I lift it up so she can feed. Once she's finished she sits in between us whilst we play with her a little.

A while later we're dressed and downstairs. Scarlett is playing with her toys on the rug and Damon is boarding up the broken window. Elena and Stefan walk in.

"What are we going to do about the tomb Vampires?" I ask.

"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night." Damon says.

"Yeah. And then what? We turn to the rest of that house of vampires and say, 'Oops. Sorry?'" Stefan says.

"I can't believe you made a deal with her." Elena snarks.

"It was more like a helpful exchange of information. And it's not like I had a choice. She's...scary. Besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back so I can kill her." Damon says.

"Of course she is. Damon gets what he wants, as usual. No matter who he hurts in the process." Elena says.

"Seriously?" I say, raising my eyebrow at her snarky tone.

"You don't have to be snarky about it." Damon tells her

"I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned snarky." she replies.

Damon sighs. "How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?"

"I'm not blaming you, Damon. I've accepted the fact that you're a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities."

"Ouch." Damon says sarcastically.

"Get over yourself, Elena" I say. She scowls at me.

"This isn't being very productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires. Yeah?" Stefan says, trying to break the tension.

Damon walks over to Scarlett, picks her up and heads into the kitchen. I give Elena a scowl of my own and follow him. He sits Scarlett in her high chair and gets her a snack.

A little while later I walk into the parlour with Scarlett, ready to go see Grams. Damon is fixing the clock on the wall.

"Look at you, Mr Domestic." I say with a laugh. He gives me a smirk.

Stefan walks in, ready to go out.

"Hunting party?" Damon asks.

"That guy did a number on me last night when he stabbed me. I gotta get my strength back up." Stefan replies.

"I've got two litres of soccer mom in the fridge. No?" I chuckle at Damon.

"We'll talk when I get back?" Stefan asks.

"All right. Give my regards to the squirrels." I chuckle again as Stefan leaves.

Damon finishes with the clock and closes the glass front. He climbs down and comes over to us. He kisses Scarlett on the head before giving me a lingering kiss on my lips.

"Be careful in this storm. I love you." He says.

"I will. I love you." I reply and head to Grams.

* * *

I arrive at Grams and she lets us in. I settle Scarlett on the floor playing with some toys.

"I need you to help me learn how to take down a Vampire. Two came to the house last night and threw a brick through the window. The only thing I could think of was _'motus'_ but obviously that doesn't stop them."

"You already know how to give them an aneurysm" she tells me.

"Of course" I reply with a facepalm.

"I can also teach you how to snap a neck, but obviously we can't practice."

"I'm sure I can practice on Stefan next time he annoys me" I chuckle.

She teaches me the spell and we work on a few others. I finally pluck up the courage to ask about my parents.

"So, errr, what do you know about my parents?" I ask.

"I knew your Mom, Sophia. The Jacobs and the Bennetts have been family friends for a long time. I was friends with Sophia's Mom, Sarah, and Abby, my daughter, was friendly with Sophia's older sister, Bethany. When Sophia fell pregnant at such a young age she kept it hidden as long as possible. She wanted to keep you but Sarah said it would ruin her life. Abby knew Miranda and Grayson were trying for a baby without success, so they agreed to adopt you."

"What about my father?" I ask.

"Sophia didn't say much. She said she got drunk at a high school party and had a one night stand. You were the result. She never told anyone who the boy was."

I feel sad that I may never know who my father was.

"What about the crash?" I ask.

"Sarah, Bethany and Sophia were heading back from Richmond one Saturday evening when a drunk driver went through a red light and smashed into the car head on. All 3 of them died instantly. You were only a few months old. The loss shook the whole town."

I start to cry at the thought that my whole family was killed because of one person's choice to drive whilst drunk. Grams gives me a hug.

"One thing I do know, is that all 3 of them would be extremely proud of the young woman you have become." I nod in response.

Just then my phone rings. I check the caller ID and see that it is Damon.

"Hey you" I say.

_"Imz, are you and Scarlett okay? Stefan hasn't come back from hunting and he isn't answering his phone. I've checked with Elena and he's not there and not answering her call either."_

"We're fine, we're with Grams at her house. Where do you think he is?"

_"You're not going to like what I'm thinking."_

"Tomb Vampires?"

_"Yep."_

"Need help?"

_"Please, even if only to stop your sister doing something stupid."_

"Text me the address, I'll meet you there."

_"Will do. Love you."_

"Love you" I reply and hang up.

I look at Grams and relay what Damon has just told me.

"I never thought I would care about what happens to a Vampire, but I can see Damon and Stefan are different. I will watch Scarlett whilst you go. Remember what we worked on earlier." she tells me.

"Thank you." I reply and head to the address that Damon sent me. I pull up behind his car and see his black figure coming towards us in the rain. I see Elena get out if Damon's car with an umbrella so I get out too. Damon takes hold of my hand as I reach him.

"What happened? Where is he?" Elena asks Damon.

"They have him. I can't get in." Damon replies.

"Why not?" Elena asks. She really can be stupid at times.

"Because he's not invited in." I say.

Damon nods. "The woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in."

"I can get in." Elena says and starts towards the house.

Damon stops her with his free hand. "You're not going in there."

"I'm going!" she exclaims, struggling in Damon's grasp.

"You're not going in there Elena" I say. She stops struggling and looks at us.

"Why are they doing this? What do they want with him?"

"Revenge. They want revenge." Damon tells her.

"We gotta do something." she says.

"I know." Damon replies.

"We can't let them hurt him. We gotta get him out of there." Elena says.

"I know. Elena, I know. But I don't know how to get him out." Damon replies.

"I have an idea" I say.

* * *

We enter the high school and find Alaric walking down the corridor.

"Well, don't you look...alive?" Damon asks.

"You can't hurt me." Alaric replies.

"Oh, I can hurt you, all right. I just don't want to."

"Mr. Saltzman. We need your help." Elena says.

We move into Alaric's classroom and explain everything.

"Stefan's in the house. Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..." Elena says before she is interrupted by Damon.

"But you're human. You however have that nifty little ring."

"Stefan told me about your ring." Elena says. I'm guessing Stefan has been eavesdropping.

"What about it?" Alaric asks.

"Let me recap...You tried to kill me. Imogen stopped you. She noticed the ring on your finger which is the same as her Dad used to wear. A ring which will bring you back to life if you die at the hands of a supernatural being. Am I leaving anything out?"

"Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again. Only this time, I don't get stopped."

"Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan." Elena begs.

"I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem." he retorts.

"That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." Damon says.

_'Damon, is this a good idea?'_

_'He's a hunter, I need his help'_

"You're lying." Alaric says.

"Am I? Why don't you ask her for yourself? Coward. Come on, Imz, Elena"

We start to leave when Alaric speaks.

"All right! Wait. I'll go."

We turn back into the classroom. Alaric brings out an assortment of weapons that he has hidden in his storage closet.

"Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night." Damon says.

"I've you to thank for that." he snarks to Damon.

"What are these?" I ask, pointing at some dart type objects.

"Those are tranquiliser darts filled with vervain." Alaric tells me.

"Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out." Damon says.

"That's your plan? You're just gonna take them all on yourself?" I ask incredulously.

"Well, I'll be a little stealthier than that, hopefully." he replies.

We see Elena take one of the vervain darts.

"Whoa. What are you doing?" Alaric asks.

"I'm going with you guys." Elena says.

"No. No. No. No. No way." Damon says. I raise an eyebrow.

"You need me. I'll get in. You could distract them, and then I'll get Stefan out." she tells us.

"You'll get yourself killed. You're not going in there." I say.

"Neither are you" Damon tells me.

"I'm going." Elena says.

"You're not, but I am." I say.

Damon ignores us both and speaks to Alaric. "So, when you get me in, get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically just be in the way."

"Damon, now is not the time to be the lone ranger." I say.

"Fine. Elena, you can drive the getaway car. You're not going in the house. Imogen, can you cloak me from outside?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so. I've only cloaked you one time, and I was next to you."

"You can't stop me. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand." Elena says.

"Oh, I understand. I understand. He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up where you belong. I get it." Damon says sarcastically to Elena.

"Can you just not joke around for 2 seconds?" She snarks back at him.

"We can't protect you, Elena. We don't know how many vampires there are in there." He snaps his fingers. "That's how long it takes you to get your head ripped off. We have to be able to get in and get out. We can't be distracted with your safety. Or this will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from...Including Stefan. I know. I get it. I understand. If it was Imogen in there I would feel the same."

She nods in response.

Damon looks at me. "I don't want you in there Imz. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

"I can't cloak you from outside Damon. Next to you I can do, but not from a distance." He nods in response and sighs.

"Drink my blood. At least that way I know you'll come back to me." I nod.

"We'll be outside" Alaric says, not wanting to see us share blood. He leaves with Elena.

Damon rests his forehead against mine and his hands rest on my hips.

"I love you. Please don't get hurt in there. I need you, and Scarlett needs her Mommy."

"I love you. I've been practising some spells with Grams. I'll be fine, and if I'm not, I'll come back to you and Scarlett. I will _**always**_ come back to you." I say, cupping his face in my hands.

"I can't say it wouldn't ease my mind if you were a little more...durable." he says with a smirk, before letting his Vampire face take over and biting my neck. He takes a few mouthfuls and then bites into his wrist. He holds it out to me and I take a few mouthfuls. I see his pupils are blown with lust and I know mine are too. I let go of his wrist and fight the urge to pounce on him.

"Come on, let's go rescue your brother." I say and grab his hand, leading him out to where Elena and Alaric are waiting.

* * *

We pull up to the house, Damon, Elena and I in Damon's car, and Alaric in his own car behind us.

We leave Elena in the car and head towards the house. Alaric heads towards the front door to ask to use the phone, faking his car breaking down. I cloak Damon and I and we head towards the back door, where Alaric will meet us with the owner of the house. I know she is compelled to not invite Damon in which means he's going to have to kill her to get in.

We wait by the back door until we hear Alaric turn the faucet and blender on and stake a Vampire.

"What's happening?" We hear a female voice ask.

"I'm really sorry. But you're gonna need to invite a friend of mine inside." Alaric says as he opens the door. I uncloak us.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He's not allowed in the house." Miss Gibbons says to Alaric.

"I know that. But you've gotta make an exception." Alaric tells her.

"Get her out of the house. Now! Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?" Damon compels her.

"No." she replies.

"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?" Damon asks.

"No. It's just me." Miss Gibbons replies.

"No? Good." Damon says and snaps her neck. He takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen.

"You were supposed to compel her." Alaric exclaims.

"It doesn't work that way..." I say sadly.

"She is human." Alaric says.

"And I'm not! So, I don't care. Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body!" Damon tells Alaric. I know he does care, but right now he will do anything to save his brother.

I cloak us again and we hide in the pantry. We hear a Vampire come into the kitchen. Damon jumps out and stakes him.

I cloak us again and we head down some stairs to the cellar. We come across another Vampire and Damon stakes him as I see Elena. I drop the spell.

"Are you insane?!" I hiss at her.

We walk through a door into a room where Stefan is hung from the ceiling with ropes and another Vampire, Harper, is tied to a chair.

"Elena...You shouldn't be here..." Stefan rasps.

"She was supposed to stay in the car." Damon says, tossing a stake in the air. He's about to use it on Harper when Stefan stops him.

"Uhh! No. No. No. Not him."

"Whatever. Let's get you down." Damon says.

"There's vervain on the ropes." Stefan rasps.

"Elena, pull that." he says. Elena pulls the rope and Damon catches Stefan as he groans.

"All right, let's go. Clothes on." Damon says. We head towards the door.

"Wait." Stefan says, as he pulls one of the stakes from Harper's legs.

"What? Guys, come on. We have to get out of here." I say.

"Come on, we gotta go." Damon says.

"The other one." Stefan grunts to Elena.

She pulls the other stake out and they eventually follow us.

"Can you get him in the car?" Damon asks Elena.

"Yeah." she replies.

"All right, go." Damon tells her.

"What about you two?" she asks.

"You rescue, we'll distract. Go." Damon tells her.

Elena and Stefan head out the basement door whilst Damon and I head back up the stairs. I cloak us again as we go.

We find a pool room with a bunch of Vampires in, including Frederick who attacked us the night before. Damon stakes the female Vampire who is in the doorway.

We head into the dining room as the Vampires in the pool room leave to look for us. Damon stakes another Vampire, leaving them on the table.

Frederick comes in and Damon attacks him, taking him by surprise. Another 2 Vampires come in and startle me so I drop the cloaking spell on Damon. They pull him off Frederick and Frederick takes the opportunity to run.

The two Vampires start fighting Damon. I snap their necks just as one comes up behind him. I see Alaric about to shoot at one with a dart, but he lowers his gun once I snap their necks.

"Nice work" he nods at me.

"I'm going after Frederick" Damon says and leaves the room in the direction Frederick went.

A Vampire goes to attack Alaric as he's reloading his dart gun. I snap his neck before he can reach him.

"Thanks" he says to me.

Damon comes back. "Frederick's gone." he says, taking my hand.

"Let's get out of here." I say.

"I'm gonna kill him." Damon replies.

We head to the front door and go to leave. As we open the door and step onto the porch we see more Vampires approaching.

"How many of those vervain darts do you have left?" Damon asks.

"One." Alaric replies.

"Not gonna be enough." I say. "And I can't snap necks that quickly."

We step back in and close the door.

"So, what you said to get me to do this, about my wife. It was a lie, wasn't it?" Alaric asks Damon.

"Yep." Damon replies.

"We needed your help." I tell him.

We hear Pearl's voice outside.

"Stop. What's going on here?" She says to the Vampires outside. She opens the door and sees the 3 of us standing there and the bodies on the floor.

"What did you do?" She asks Damon.

"Me? Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother." replies.

"Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with." She tells us.

"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them." Damon says, glaring.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." she tells us.

"Well, it did. If I had a good side...Not a way to get on it." Damon says and leads me past them to the car.

We thank Alaric for his help and get in the car. We learn that Frederick had gone after Stefan and Elena fed him her blood so he was strong enough to fight him, and that Stefan killed Frederick. Damon is not happy at his car window being smashed. We head back to the boarding house via the school so I can collect my car. Damon and I leave in my car to go get Scarlett from Grams, then we head to the Grill for food and a much needed drink.

I head to a table whilst Damon goes to the bar to speak to Alaric. I see Alaric punch Damon, and then Damon joins me.

"I guess I deserved that" he says. I chuckle at him.

We get food and then head home. As we head up the stairs Damon tells me he's going to check on Stefan. I put Scarlett to bed then head into our room where Damon is sitting on the bed with a serious look on his face.

"What's up?" I ask him.

"I found Stefan in his room surrounded by a bunch of empty blood bags." he tells me.

"Shit, that's not good." I reply.

"We're going to have to keep a close eye on him." I nod, understanding his meaning. He pulls me down onto the bed so I'm straddling him whilst he leans his back against the headboard.

"You did good today my little witch." he tells me.

"I told you I would be fine." I tell him.

"We make a good team." He replies with a smile.

"We certainly do." I reply, with a smile of my own.

"Let's celebrate." He says with a wink before kissing me passionately. I know he was scared today, both for his brother and me because I went in the house with him, and he needs to connect with me to help him deal with his emotions.

Our kissing gets more heated and I grind my core on the bulge in his jeans, trying to find the friction I'm searching for. I feel his hands move to the hem of my top and he lifts it up. We break our kiss so he can lift my top over my head. I grab his top and lift it over his head too. Once we're both topless our lips reconnect and I run my hands over his chest and back. He runs his hands over my stomach to my sides then up my back. He unhooks my bra and I free my arms and throw it across the room. His hands move to my breasts and he pinches my nipples causing them to pebble beneath his touch.

I run my hands down his stomach and unfasten his belt and jeans. He unfastens my jeans and I stand to remove them whilst he removes his. I straddle him again, just my panties separating us. We continue kissing each other, our hands roaming over each others bodies.

"These need to go" he growls, then he rips my panties off me. Once they're gone I shift position then sink down on his length, moaning as he fills me. I start moving as we continue kissing, my hands fisting his hair making him groan.

Damon moves to kiss down my jaw to my neck. He nibbles and licks the spot where he always bites me. I know what he's silently asking so I tilt my head to give him better access. I feel his fangs pierce my skin and we both moan with pleasure as he drinks. I move faster as I feel my orgasm start to build. Damon reaches his hand down between us and rubs circles on my clit. I moan louder and he stops drinking from me. He bites his wrist and holds it to my mouth. I drink from him, my brown orbs meeting his icy blue ones. Our movements become frenzied as we both near our climaxes. I let go of his wrist and wrap my arms around his neck as his go to my hips. We rest our foreheads against each others and hold eye contact as I reach my climax, screaming his name, my walls clenching around his length bringing him to release. I feel him filling me with his seed as he shouts my name.

I stay in his lap straddling him as he kisses me slowly. We're both panting and he is still inside me, neither of us wanting to break the connection yet.

"You need to stop ripping my underwear to bits" I tell him breathlessly. "I'm running out of panties."

He chuckles at me. "I'll take you shopping for more."

We carry on kissing. The kisses are slow and languid, but they are full of the love we have for each other.

"I needed that." he tells me.

"I know. I did too."

"I love you, soon-to-be Mrs Salvatore."

"I love you too, Mr Salvatore."

Damon shuffles down the bed so his is laid down with me top of him. I pull the blankets over us and nuzzle my head into his neck, and we both fall asleep


	20. Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've been asked if Imogen is now pregnant after the blood sharing in the last chapter. The answer is no, they didn't exchange blood at the same time, Damon drank from Imogen then Imogen drank from Damon. There will be another baby but not just yet.
> 
> We've just started a 4 week lockdown here in the UK, so I might get to write a little more.
> 
> As usual I don't own anything TVD related, but Damon owned me this chapter and wanted it all in his POV.

**January 30th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Enemies; Shinedown**

_You got the world on it's knees_

_You're taking all that you please_

_You want more! (You want more!)_

_But you'll get nothing from me_

_You're like the burden we bear_

_You love the hate that we share_

_You want more! (You want more!)_

_But you'll get nothing from me_

_But enemies! Enemies!_

**Damon's POV**

I wake up to Imogen asleep with her head on my chest and her leg thrown over mine. We have a massive bed and yet we both prefer to sleep with as much skin to skin contact as possible. Having her close soothes the thoughts that I don't deserve her or that she'll leave. I know we're soulmates and she won't ever love anyone else, but my past spanned over a century and a half and doesn't just go away overnight.

Jenna had Scarlett overnight last night so I could take Imogen out on a date, so we don't have to get up for her. As much as I love my daughter, it was nice to spend some time with Imogen alone. I took her out to a fancy restaurant and when we got home we had sex in the shower, in the bath tub, up against the wall, in bed, you get the picture. We didn't get to sleep until the early hours.

I think over the last couple of weeks, since the day Stefan was tortured by the tomb vamps. Imogen was a big help that day and she's been practising with Grams since as well. She's working on building her strength so doing a lot of spells or channeling a lot of magic doesn't take it out of her so much. She also told me what she found out about her parents. No one knows who her Dad is and her Mom, Aunt and Grandma died in a tragic car crash when she was still a baby. She was upset but she seems okay now.

As for Stefan, Imogen and I are both sure he's still on human blood. We don't have any evidence though and he claims his current mood and behaviour are because he's detoxing.

I decide I'm not going to worry about Stefan for now and go back to sleep. I breathe in Imogen's scent and drift off.

A while later we're both woken by the sound of loud music.

"Urgh" she groans, moving so she's laid on top of me and burying her head in my neck. I press a kiss to her head and hold her tightly.

"Do you think this is because we made a lot of noise last night?" she mumbles.

"No, he wasn't home. You know, with his music that loud he wouldn't hear us now either" I say, kissing her head again. She looks up at me and smiles before capturing my lips with hers. We make love again before we both get showered (and have sex in the shower again, don't judge, I don't know how long it will be until we're child free again!) and finally get dressed.

We head downstairs and get breakfast. Imogen leaves to go pick up Scarlett and I decide to have a chat with my baby brother.

"Could you turn it up a little bit? It's not annoying yet." I say, walking into Stefan's room with a glass of blood. He is doing pull ups on the beam in the roof.

"Sorry." he replies. I switch off the music.

"When are you going back to school?" I ask.

"Soon." he replies, as he jumps down and moves to the floor to start doing push ups.

"Oh come on. Just drink already. Come on, this self-detox is not natural." I tell him, crouching down with my glass down next to him.

"Can you get that away from me please?" he asks.

"How long did it take you to wean yourself of it the last time you indulged?" I ask. He ignores me and carries on doing push ups.

"That's not good."

"I'll be fine; it just takes a little bit of time." he says.

"I don't get it; you know, you don't have to kill to survive. That's what blood banks are for. I haven't hunted in a human in...God way too long." I say.

"Oh, I'm impressed."

"It's completely self-serving. I'm trying to get the town off the trail of vampires which is not very easy considering that there is an entire tomb of them running around." I tell him.

"What are we planning on doing about that?" he asks.

"We are not going to do much of anything if you don't have your strength. There's nothing wrong with partaking in a healthy diet of human blood from a blood bank. You're not actually killing anyone."

"I have my reasons." I roll my eyes at him.

"Well, what are those holier-than-thou reasons? You know, we never actually discussed this. You know, I'd- I'd love to hear this story." I say, sitting in the chair and putting my glass of blood down on the stack if books on the table next to me.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you? Watching me struggle?" Stefan asks.

"Very much so." I reply with a smirk.

"I hate to break it to you Damon but...I actually have it under complete control." he tells me.

"You do? Well, then you should just carry on, making the rest of us vampires look bad." I stand up and leave my glass on purpose. "Have a great day, Stefan." I say and walk out of the room. 30 seconds later I walk back in.

"Oh, hey, almost forgot something. Oops." I say. I grab the glass and leave again, taking a mouthful and humming at the taste as I go.

I walk downstairs and see Imogen coming through the door with Scarlett. I give them both a kiss.

"I have a Founder's Council meeting." I tell her.

"Okay. I'm going to Grams to practice and also strengthen the protection spells on Scarlett."

"Okay, I'll see you later." I say, and we both head out to our cars.

A short while later I arrive at the Founder's Hall and I'm shown into the meeting where Sheriff Forbes is currently speaking.

"The coroner's office has officially ruled Vicki Donovan's death a drug overdose. Her family has been notified, the truth will stay in this room and we can put this behind us." She says.

Mayor Lockwood steps forward and the Sheriff comes to stand with me. "Thank you Sheriff. And on to a more pressing issue, John Gilbert has asked to say a few words."

I'm surprised that John Gilbert is here. I'm sure Imogen has said he's her Uncle. I watch him walk over to stand with the Mayor.

"Welcome back John, it's good to see you." Mayor Lockwood says.

"Hello everyone, it's wonderful to see you, I wish it were under better circumstances. As a founding family member I find it's my duty to report some very distressing news." John says.

"He's a Gilbert?" I ask the Sheriff.

"Imogen and Elena's uncle. His name is John but I call him Jackass." she says. I snicker at her response.

"A hospital blood bank in the neighboring county of Amherst has reported several break ins over the past two weeks. 7 hunters, 4 campers and 2 states employees have been reported missing as well. All of this within a 75-mile radius of Mystic Falls." John tells everyone.

Mayor Lockwood interrupts him. "Okay okay, no need to get alarmed right at this moment."

"Meaning he doesn't want to cancel the Founders' Day Kick-off Party." Sheriff Forbes says to me.

"You think all of your problems are over but I'm here to tell you, nothing's been solved." John says. I really hope this is the tomb vamps and not Stefan.

* * *

I get home after the meeting and find Imogen putting Scarlett down for a nap in our room.

"Hey" I say, walking in.

"Hey" she replies. She moves from the crib to the bed and lies down.

"Tired?" I ask.

"Yes. And you know why." she says. I chuckle in response and lie down on the bed with her. She moves over and rests her head on my chest. I play with her hair and before I know it she's asleep. I drift off not long after.

We wake to Scarlett babbling in her crib. I hop out of bed and get her before changing her diaper and bringing her into bed with us.

"Your Uncle John was at the Founder's Council meeting." I tell her.

"Really? I didn't know he was in town." she replies.

"Yep. Apparently the blood bank over in Amherst County has been broken into several times along with 7 hunters, 4 campers and 2 state employees who have been reported missing."

"Tomb Vampires?" she asks.

"I hope so, because the alternative would be Stefan."

Imogen's phone rings. I see the caller ID says Elena.

"Hey" Imogen says.

_"Hey Immy. Do you think you and Damon could come over? I need to talk to you both."_

Imogen looks at me and I nod.

"Sure, we'll be over in a little while." she says and hangs up.

"I wonder what that's about." She says to me.

"Let's go and find out." I say.

* * *

We arrive at the Gilbert house and walk in. Elena meets us as we enter.

"Oh good you're here." she tells us.

"You ask we come. We're easy like that." I say. Imogen chuckles at me. Elena points upstairs.

"No Elena, we will not go to your bedroom with you." I say loudly to annoy her. I have no idea why she doesn't want Jeremy to know we're going upstairs. We follow her, with Jeremy just looking at us.

We enter Elena's room and I lie down on her bed, grabbing hold of her teddy and putting it on my lap.

"Stop messing around." Elena tells me. "How do you put up with him?" she asks Imogen.

"You get used to him and the sex is incredible" she says, laughing.

"Did you know that your uncle has been kicking it with the Founders' Council?"

"What? Is he serious Immy?"

"Yep." Imogen replies.

"Perfect, we'll just add it to the growing list of how everything is falling apart."

I notice a broken lamp and I point an arm of the teddy bear towards it. "What happened right there?" I ask, knowing it was probably Stefan.

"Uh...nothing." Elena says. "Damon, I'm worried about Stefan. He says that everything's okay but he's clearly struggling. How long is it gonna take before he goes back to normal?"

"A few days, give or take."

"It's been a few days." Elena says.

"Give then, I don't know. What's the big deal?" I say as I give Elena her teddy back and get up.

"He's not himself, Damon." Imogen says. I go over to her and take Scarlett from her.

"Well, maybe his problem is that he has spent too long not being himself." I say.

"I agree with that Damon, but what do we do?" Imogen says.

I take one of the pictures off Elena's mirror.

"Please don't make me sorry for asking you." Elena says, trying to take the picture back.

"It is what it is Elena. The Stefan you know was 'good behaviour Stefan', 'rein it in Stefan', 'fight against his nature into an annoying excessive level Stefan', but if you think there isn't another part to this then you have not been paying attention." I tell her.

"He's not you, not even close." Elena says. Imogen glares at her.

"Well, he doesn't want to be me. That doesn't mean that deep down though he's not." I say and leave the room. Imogen follows a few minutes later and we head home.

"Apparently Alaric pulled Elena in for a chat because Jeremy wrote a paper on Vampires. He didn't realise he already knew about the supernatural." Imogen tells me.

"I bet that was an interesting conversation." I say with a chuckle.

Once home we get ready for the Founder's Day 150 Anniversary kick off party. I wear a black suit with a black shirt and no tie. Imogen is wearing a thigh length red dress that I'm dying to rip off her body.

* * *

Imogen, Scarlett, Stefan and I arrive at the Founder's Hall for the party. I'm carrying Scarlett in my arms.

"Oh god! I shouldn't be here." Stefan says as we walk through the door.

"Come on, don't be a downer, it's a party for the founding families! That would be us. It would be rude to skip it." I say.

"I really liked you a whole lot better when you hated everybody." Stefan says. Imogen chuckles at him.

"Oh I still do. I just love that they love me." I say, laughing.

"How are you feeling?" Imogen asks.

"I'm good, I'm fine." Stefan replies. Imogen raises an eyebrow.

"No cravings? No urges? Is that whiskey you've been drinking all day doing its job?" I ask. Stefan laughs at me. "We are who we are Stefan. Nothing's gonna change that."

"Ah! Nothing will make you happier to just see me giving up, huh Damon?" Stefan says.

"Whatever, it's inevitable."

"Well, I'm gonna find Elena." Stefan says, walking away.

"Don't embarrass me young man!" I call after him.

I turn to Imogen and place a kiss on her head.

"Let's go get a drink" I say. She nods and I lead her to the bar. We stop several times on the way to talk to various people we know.

We walk into the bar area and see Stefan dancing with Kelly. Elena is stood by the bar, and we head over to her.

"Have we entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?" Imogen asks.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Elena asks me.

"Eventually. One way or another." I say. Elena looks at me and walks off to join Jenna.

"I'm going to chat to Jenna" Imogen tells me.

"I'll take Scarlett and go mingle" I tell her. She gives me a quick kiss and I wander off.

I see Sheriff Forbes out of her uniform and go to join her.

"You know I love a woman in uniform but I have to side with this one. You look...you look smashing." I tell her.

"Thank you Damon." she says with a laugh. She clinks her glass with me. "Cheers! I needed that. You know I had my doubts about you at first but like everyone else on the council you've won me over."

"Thanks Liz. It's really nice how welcoming the council has been. I like my life here in Mystic Falls. Starting to feel like... home again." I say with a smile. Scarlett is babbling at Liz from my arms.

"Well, you're not gonna like what I have to tell you. Johnathan Gilbert's claims check out. Blood bank, the missing people, all of it's true. We might have a problem." she tells me. This is really not good news.

Just then Jeremy approaches us.

"Hey Damon" he says with a smile. "And hey Scarlett" he says, giving her a little tickle. She lets out a giggle at her Uncle.

"Little Gilbert" I reply with a nod. "Enjoying the party?"

"Heh. I'm only here because Uncle John made me come."

I chuckle in response and whisper "I'm only here for the whiskey."

Jeremy chuckles at me and wanders off so I go in search of Imogen.

I see her dancing with Matt, and Elena dancing with Stefan. I head to the bar and order a whiskey, then lean back against the bar bouncing Scarlett on my hip. As soon as Imogen sees us she comes over.

"Have you noticed what your brother has been up to?" she asks.

"No, I have been too preoccupied with you." I tell her.

"With me?" she asks.

"You know I only have eyes for you." I tell her, then I take a rose from the display next to me, sniff it and hand it to her.

"Come on, see if Jenna will watch Scarlett then we can dance" I tell her.

She takes Scarlett from me and goes to find Jenna, coming back a few minutes later. I lead her out to the balcony.

"Why are we out here?" she asks.

"Just wanted some alone time with you" I tell her and pull her in for a kiss. We stand there, arms around each other, just enjoying each others company when John Gilbert comes out.

"Damon, right?" He says to me. "Imogen." he says, looking at Imogen.

"Uncle John." Imogen says with a sigh.

"We didn't get the chance to meet at the council meeting." he says, looking at me.

"Yeah. It's a pleasure. Are you enjoying the kick-off?" I say.

"Oh yeah. I forgot how much fun these small town celebrations can be." John replies.

"Yeah. When was the last time you were here?" I ask.

"Mom and Dad's funeral." Imogen says, sadness crossing her face.

"How long have you been in town?" John asks me.

"Oh, not long at all." I reply.

"So what do you think Damon? You know this...errr... problem is real, right?"

"I know about Vampires Uncle John." Imogen tells him.

"It's a potential blood bath." He says.

"I wouldn't overreact John." I tell him.

"Oh, I think it's like 1864 all over again, vampires running amok. I guess we're just gonna have to hunt them down, throw them in a church and burn them to ash." he replies.

_'Did I ever mention I hate this guy?'_ I hear Imogen say in my head.

_'Does that mean you don't mind if I kill him?'_ I reply.

_'Not at all, but I might just do it before you.'_

_'Hmmm you have no idea how hot you sound'_

_'One track mind again Salvatore?'_

_'Where you're concerned, Gilbert, always.'_

"That's the story, huh?" I say out loud to John.

"Part of the story, yeah." he replies. I wonder how much he actually knows.

"Oh, there's more?" Imogen asks.

"Oh, there's a lot more. See, it seems there was a tomb under the church, where vampires were hidden, waiting for someone to come along and set them free. But then you already knew that didn't you?"

"We know they're free." Imogen says.

"I mean, you're the one that did it." John says.

"If you know so much you'll know that we had no choice. Anna threatened us, including Scarlett, if the tomb wasn't opened so she could get her Mom." Imogen says.

"And you're telling us this why?" I ask.

"I just thought we would get the introductions out of the way." John says.

"You know that I could rip your throat out before anyone would notice?" I say.

"Yeah." he says.

"Yeah, okay. But you probably ingest vervain so..."

"Why don't you take a bite to find out?" He challenges.

_'I'm going to snap his neck.'_ Imogen says in my head.

_'Go for it.'_ I reply.

"It's not worth my time." I say and start to leave.

"Did I mention I could snap your neck without touching you?" Imogen says. John's eyes widen as Imogen lifts her hand and motions for his neck to snap. I smile and vamp over as his neck snaps and throw him off the balcony.

"I've always hated him." Imogen says. I chuckle and kiss her passionately. "I fucking love you."

"I fucking love you too." She replies and we head inside.

We come across Stefan, who is helping himself to a glass of champagne.

"You wanna hear the bad news or the really bad news?" I say to him.

"Actually, I don't want any news."

"Alright, let me rephrase. Do you want to hear how the council is back in vampire mode?" I ask.

"Or how I just killed Uncle John?" Imogen says.

"What?" Stefan says.

"Great party by the way, huh?" I say, and we walk off.

"Damon." I hear Stefan say, but he doesn't follow us.

We're looking for Jenna when we see John Gilbert walk in.

"You have got to be kidding me." I say to Imogen with a frown.

"What the actual fuck?" says Imogen.

We find Alaric as Mayor Lockwood invites John up onto the stage to ring the bell. I notice a ring on his right hand.

"Look at his right hand." I say to Ric and Imogen.

"Whose?" Ric asks, puzzled. Imogen is looking at John already.

"Town's favourite son. Look at his ring." I say.

"Well, it looks like mine." Ric says.

"Yeah, and that would be a big coincidence if he didn't just came back from the dead five minutes ago." I say.

"Where the hell did you get that ring?" Imogen asks Ric.

"Isobel, my wife." Ric tells her.

"Isobel. Who gave birth to Elena, under the medical care of the esteemed Dr Grayson Gilbert, John's brother." I say.

"That must be Dad's ring, he took it! It should have gone to Jeremy." Imogen says.

"Do you think John knew Isobel?" Ric asks.

"I think he must have." Imogen says.

"I think John knows a lot of things." I say.

We find Jenna and take Scarlett. When we see John leave Ric, Imogen, Scarlett and I follow him.

"Going somewhere, Uncle John?" Imogen asks.

"I've never liked to be the last one to leave a party. It's too desperate. You going to kill me again or you're gonna let Mr. Saltzman or Damon do your dirty work?" He says.

"Okay, you obviously know who I am." Ric says.

"I do. Alaric Saltzman, a high school history teacher with a secret." John replies.

"Sure know a lot for someone who just got to town." I say.

"More than you can imagine, Damon. My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything that you, you or you or the council knows. So, if you're planning on some clever high speed snatch ring, vamp kill move, know that if I die, everything I know goes to the council including the fascinating little tale of the original Salvatore brothers and their present day return to Mystic Falls."

"How did you get that ring?" Ric asks.

"I had inherited one, my brother Gray had the other. This was his and I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel if I had known she'd hand it over to another guy." John says.

"I knew that was Dad's. That should have gone to Jeremy, you gave yours away." Imogen says, glaring at her Uncle.

"What would your parents think about you dating a Vampire, Imogen?" he asks. Imogen just carries on glaring at him.

"So you did know her?" I say.

"Who do you think send her your way when she wanted to become a vampire?" John asks.

"You sent her?" I ask in response.

"Guilty. Why, did you think someone else send her? Maybe Katherine Pierce?" John says.

"How do you know about Katherine?" I ask.

"How do I know anything Damon?" he retorts.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"So many questions. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ric. I've heard so much about you." John says, and walks off. We just stand there and watch him for a few seconds.

"Let's go home." Imogen says. Scarlett has fallen asleep in her arms. We head home.

Imogen goes upstairs to put Scarlett to bed and I grab a glass of blood and take a seat in front of the fire. Stefan walks in.

"We have a problem Stefan and when I say problem I mean global crisis. It seems Uncle John has..." I say, but stop when I look at Stefan and realise he is not okay. "You don't look so good. Its different this time, isn't it? The need is too strong. Of course it would be after all these years."

I put the glass of blood down and stand up. I put my hand on Stefan's arm. "Have a good night brother." I say and head upstairs to go to bed with my girl. I did promise her I would help her out of her dress after all.


	21. Make My Heart A Better Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Miss Mystic Falls chapter. Hope you enjoy! There's only 3 chapters left of season 1! Which leads to the question of do I continue straight into season 2 here, or start a new story for season 2 and then each season? Or I was thinking perhaps do seasons 1 2 here, then a new story for seasons 3 4, then 5 6 etc. What do you think?
> 
> I don't own anything TVD related, only own OC's.

**February 5th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: All I Need; Within Temptation**

_Can you still see the heart of me?_

_All my agony fades away_

_when you hold me in your embrace_

_Don't tear me down for all I need_

_Make my heart a better place_

_Give me something I can believe_

_Don't tear me down_

_You've opened the door now, don't let it close_

**Damon's POV**

It's Friday morning and Imogen is at college, Scarlett is at daycare and I'm at the Founder's Hall after Liz asked me to meet her and Uncle John Gilbert.

"There was a disturbance at the hospital blood bank last night; some of the supply was compromised." She tells us.

"Compromised? You mean stolen?" I ask.

"We almost missed it. The inventory records were altered but when the night manager was questioned he had no recollection of changing them." Liz says.

"Meaning that the vampire who stole the blood used mind control to hide the theft." John says. Talk about stating the obvious.

"I know what you meant." I tell him.

"We wouldn't have noticed had John not alerted us to recent discrepancies in other hospital blood banks in the county." Liz says.

"How lucky for us we have... John." I say sarcastically.

"We're stepping up security at the hospital, giving the guard vervain to prevent this from happening again." Liz tells us.

"Sheriff, may I offer a suggestion? Why don't Damon and I put our heads together? We can track down whoever is doing this." John says.

"Truthfully I can use the extra hands. Is that something you would be willing to do?" Liz replies.

"Well, of course, I mean if it'll help." I say.

"I think we could make a good team, don't you Damon?" John says, looking at me. I fight the urge to kill him.

"John, whatever I can do to help keep this town safe; even if it means spending time with you." I say with a fake smile.

* * *

I arrive home after the meeting, and Imogen is there with Scarlett who is playing on the floor and Imogen is sending a message on her phone.

"Hey" I say, sitting next to her. Scarlett hears my voice and looks at me with a big smile and starts crawling over.

"Hey" she says softly.

I pick Scarlett up who is now sat at my feet reaching up and put her on my lap.

"What's up Imz?" I ask her. She sighs.

"Elena sent me a message. The Founder's Court has been announced and we're both on it, along with Caroline. My Mom wanted us to do this, she should be here." she tells me with tears falling down her face.

I wrap my arm around her and kiss the tears away. Scarlett reaches for Imogen so she takes her from me. We sit quietly for a few minutes as I don't know what to say. I'm bad at this kind of thing.

"So, I need an escort." Imogen tells me.

"You have anyone in mind?" I ask.

"Maybe." she says.

"Anyone I know?" I ask. Teasing and banter I can do, hopefully it makes her smile again.

"You might. He's got dark hair, blue eyes, can be rather cocky and arrogant, much like you actually." she says with a chuckle.

"Oh really? He's a lucky guy if he gets to escort you." I reply with a smirk. I'm pleased she's smiling again.

"He really is. And I'm a lucky girl. So will you?"

"As if I would ever say no." I reply and lean in for a kiss. Scarlett giggles and pats our cheeks.

The doorbell rings and I sigh before going to answer it. Anna is stood there.

"I suppose I should be grateful, you learned how to use the bell." I tell her.

"I'm here on behalf of my mother." she tells me. Imogen comes up next to me.

"On behalf of or in spite of?" I ask.

"I'm sorry about what the other vampires did to Stefan. Abducting him, torturing him...It wasn't supposed to go down like that." she tells us.

"You're playing house with half of a tomb of really pissed off vampires. What do you think was going to happen?" I say

"My mom is devastated; they tried to over throw her." Anna says.

"Why isn't your mom here doing the apologising?" Imogen asks.

"She doesn't really do apologies." Anna replies.

"Well, it's a coincidence, 'cause I don't do forgiveness. Just run along. And if you're going continue playing house with these little vampires pets, you might wanna stop robbing the blood bank dry because they're onto it." I say.

"I haven't been to the local blood bank in at least a week." Anna tells me.

"Then it's one of your others." I say. It has to be one of them because the alternative is Stefan.

"The others are gone, Damon." she tells me.

"Where did they go?" Imogen asks.

"They weren't cut out for this town. After what happened with your brother my mom kicked them out and they took off. It's just us and Harper now." she says, and leaves.

We go and put Scarlett down for a nap and head into my bedroom. We both lie on the bed and Imogen rests her head on my chest.

"It was Stefan, wasn't it? Who robbed the blood bank?" she asks me. She's tracing patterns on my chest and I'm playing with her hair.

"I think so, everything is pointing that way." I tell her. She sighs.

"What are you going to do?" she asks.

"I'll speak to him after school" I tell her.

She reaches up and kisses me and then we both lie there, content in each others arms.

A couple of hours later Scarlett is awake and we're back downstairs. Stefan comes home from school. I decide it's time to question him.

"How was school?" Imogen asks.

"Fine." he replies.

"Yeah? Same old, same old? Nothing new? No stories to bring home?" I say.

"You're making small talk, why?" Stefan asks suspiciously.

"You seem awfully chipper lately, less doom and gloom, a little more pep in your step." I say.

"And you think it's because I drank human blood again." he asks.

"I don't want to brag but I would definitely take responsibility for this new and improved you." I reply. I see Imogen roll her eyes at me.

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble but I'm clean." he tells us.

"Yeah, not possible" I say.

"You really don't seem clean." Imogen says.

"Not only isn't possible but it is quite true." he says. Both Imogen and I raise our eyebrows in response.

"Stefan, just be serious for a second. You spent the last century and a half being a poster child for Prozac and now you expect me to believe that this new you has nothing to do with human blood. Nothing." I ask.

"I'm clean." he says. I don't believe him.

"You're lying!"

"Believe what you want." he replies and leaves.

"He's such a liar." Imogen says.

"Yep" I reply with a sigh.

We're in the parlour playing with Scarlett a while later when I hear Stefan head to the basement.

Not wanting Stefan to hear I send Imogen a mental message.

_'Stefan's just gone down to the basement, I'm going to see what he's doing.'_

_'Okay'_

I go downstairs and find Stefan opening the fridge. It is full of blood bags that are not ones that I have gotten.

"Well well, he's a liar and a thief. So, when were you gonna share?" I say.

"Go ahead, help yourself." he tells me.

"No, no I'm talking about the fact that you're a closet blood junkie." I tell him.

"So, I'm drinking blood again. You're the one that shoved it on me, what's your problem? I have it under control." he says.

"Under control? You robbed the hospital Stefan!"

"So, what's your point? How do you get your blood bags?" he says. He has a point, I'm just stealthier and I don't get caught.

"Fine, whatever man, drink up. Just remember, we're trying to keep a low profile. Why don't you just walk up to Sheriff Forbes and ask her to tap a vein?" I say snarkily.

"Have my actions negatively impacted you? I can't imagine what that must feel like." he sneers.

"Yeah, what's Elena thinks about the new...you?" I ask.

"Nothing's changed; I'm still the same person." He says. I laugh.

"Clearly. Because you're usually one to steal and lie. Oh wait... lying you do." I say, referring to him keeping the fact he's a Vampire and Elena is Katherine's doppelganger from Elena. He can say what he likes about me, but at least I've been honest with Imogen.

"Elena doesn't need to know anything yet." He tells me.

"You've been off the human stuff for years, Stefan. If you're having trouble controlling..." I say, knowing he'll be struggling.

"I'm not having trouble." he says. He's lying, again.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I know what it's like. That Jekyll and Hyde feeling, that switch, sometimes it goes off and you snap. Right now is not a good time for me to be worried about you snapping." I tell him.

"I know that it pains you to see this but I'm fine, okay? I'm fine." he says. He really needs to stop lying. I know he's not fine. "So please, do me a favour and back off."

He takes a blood bag and heads upstairs. I sigh and follow him. I head back to the parlour where Imogen and Scarlett still are.

"He's not okay is he?" she asks.

"Nope, not at all. He robbed the hospital, the fridge downstairs is full and I didn't fill it. He's struggling but he won't admit it, so how can I help him?" I tell her with a sigh.

"I'm sure it will all work out." she replies, kissing my cheek.

* * *

**February 6th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Damon's POV**

Imogen has gone to some interview thing she has to attend for Miss Mystic Falls, leaving me home with Scarlett. We're playing in the parlour when the doorbell rings. I open it to find John Gilbert. I've been ignoring his phone calls.

"Hey partner!" he says.

"What do you want?" I ask as he walks into the house.

"You haven't returned any of my calls." he tells me.

"Most people take that as a hint." I tell him.

"Where do we start looking for vampires?" he asks.

"How do you act John? You obviously don't care about catching vampires, you're here talking to me." I say.

"Actually, I care very much."

"What would Isobel say about that? I mean, considering that she is one." I ask.

"Isobel and I share a mutual interest. The original Johnathan Gilbert had an invention that was stolen by a vampire. That vampire was then burned alive in Fell's church, or so Johnathan thought and the invention was lost forever. But then the vampires weren't killed, were they? They were trapped and now they're free, thanks to you which means the invention is retrievable." John says.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"The only thing that matters is that I want it back and you're going to help me if you want your secret safe." He says. I don't like being threatened by a human.

"Why bring me into it John? I don't know what you are talking about much less who has it." I tell him.

"Oh come on Damon! You were around back then, you know who these people are, what they look like. He was friendly with a woman who turned out to be a vampire. Her name was Pearl. Does that ring a bell?" John says. I just look at him.

After a long moment I speak. "I'm not playing anymore. Get out. Get out." I say, walking to the door to open it.

"I beg your pardon?" he asks.

"You know, I only entertained this whole blackmail scheme thing of yours because I thought that you and Isobel could lead me to Katherine so I can get revenge, and because you are Imogen's Uncle. But see, now I know you've no idea where Katherine is, because if you did you would know that Katherine and Pearl were best friends. See, you don't know everything, do you John?"

"I'll tell the entire council what you are." He says, trying to blackmail me one last time.

"Go for it! I'll kill every last one of them. Then I'll sever your hand, pull your ring off, and I'll kill you too. Do you understand that?" I say, venomously. He turns and leaves. I sigh and go get Scarlett ready. I have to drop her off with Grams and go to the school to practice the dance for tomorrow.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

I'm at the school waiting for Damon to arrive to practice the dance for tomorrow. I see his car pull up and walk over.

"I don't know why we're doing this, you were there when the dance was invented." I groan at him.

"Got to keep up appearances, Imz." he tells me whilst wrapping an arm around his waist and leading me inside.

We line up, with Elena and Stefan next to us.

"Honour your partner. Stay focused, right hand around. Flirt with your eyes. Left hand around." Carol directs us. Stefan and Elena are laughing next to us. Damon gives me an amused look.

_'Can't I just touch you'_ Damon asks in my head.

_'Not yet, but you can touch me all you want later.'_

_'Promises, Imz, promises'_ he replies and winks at me.

"This is ridiculous." I hear Elena say.

"Both hands." Carol says.

"You're only saying that because you don't know how to do it." Stefan tells Elena.

"Sorry. Only one of us was around when the dance was invented." She tells him. I chuckle as I said a similar thing to Damon outside.

"Ouch!" Stefan replies, then spins her around, catching her in his arms.

"Woah!" Elena says as Damon and I raise our eyebrows at each other.

"No! No! There's no touching during this part. It's about the simple intimacy of the near touch. Very nice, Amber!" Carol says.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood!" Amber replies.

"If you ask me, the 'near touch' is overrated." Stefan says.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Elena says to Stefan.

"He does, doesn't he." I say. Stefan glares at me and Damon chuckles.

"Is that a bad thing? Would you prefer me to be brooding and tortured?" Stefan says to Elena.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Elena says, moving closer.

"Oh, no touching!" Stefan says. Elena moves back and they carry on dancing.

After the practice Damon and I are leaving when we Caroline and Bonnie. I give them both big hugs.

"I feel like I've not seen either of you in forever!" I say.

"Bonnie is filling in for Matt, he had to work today." Caroline tells me.

"Have fun." I say and they both laugh at me then go to talk to Elena. Damon and I leave.

"I'm going to pick Scarlett up, I'll see you at home?" I say to him.

"Of course you will." he chuckles in response.

* * *

**February 7th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Damon's POV**

It's the day of the pageant. We get up and ready and head to the Founder's Hall. Imogen goes upstairs to get ready with Elena and Jenna, and I wander round with Scarlett.

I see Anna and I join her.

"In the running for Miss Mystic Falls?" I ask her.

"Sometimes you have to wear uncomfortable heels to blend in. I remember this event from 1864, I was supposed to enter before everything happened." She tells me.

"Ah, nostalgia's a bitch." I tell her.

"If you're just gonna mock me can you move along please?" She tells me.

"John Gilbert thinks your mom stole an artifact from Johnathan senior senior back in 1864." I tell her.

"What are you, his errand boy?" She asks.

"I don't know what it is but I don't want him to have it." I tell her.

"I could ask her but you know, you've made it pretty clear that you don't trust us so why should I even bother?" Anna says.

"Because you want to stay in Mystic Falls and John Gilbert's in town, making that impossible. Find out where it is. He leaves, you can buy a welcome mat." I say and I wander off.

I go to the bar and get a drink, and then I find Ric and Jenna so I can hand Scarlett over to them to look after whilst I do the dance with Imogen.

"Hey" I say as I approach them.

"Hey" Jenna says.

"Damon" Ric says.

Jenna takes Scarlett from me and I go to the bar to grab a drink, then head upstairs to tell Elena about Stefan being on human blood.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

Elena and I are upstairs getting ready with Jenna helping us. Jenna is curling Elena's hair.

"Thanks for helping me." Elena says to Jenna.

"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't gonna burn off." Jenna says.

"I've not smelled any burning hair yet." I chuckle, curling my own hair.

"You know I remember when we were first applying for this with Mom, she was so excited." Elena says.

"So were both of you if I recall." Jenna says.

"I was. She just made it sound like so much fun. Lots has changed since then." Elena says.

"I was excited too." I say.

"I hate to break it to both of you, but its a little late for cold feet." Jenna tells us.

"I don't have cold feet. I just...I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here." Elena says.

"I agree Elena" I say.

"Well I tell you one thing, your hair would have a better chance if she was." Jenna says, and I chuckle.

"Okay, we should go put our dresses on. Be careful with that thing, don't hurt anybody." Elena says.

"I should go find Damon to get Scarlett." Jenna says.

Elena and I leave the room and go to get changed.

We enter the room and see Amber pacing nervously.

"Are you okay, Amber?" Elena asks.

"I hate being the center of attention. I get panic attacks." Amber tells us.

"Do you need some privacy so you can change?" Elena asks.

"Actually I'm just- I'm gonna go get some air." Amber tells us and leaves the room.

We're about to get changed when Damon walks in. He walks over to me and gives me a kiss.

"Did Jenna get Scarlett okay?" I ask.

"Yep, she's charming Ric." he says, chuckling.

"Hey, you can't be back here." Elena tells him.

"We need to talk." Damon tells her.

"Does it have to be right now?" She asks.

"You're timing isn't great, Damon" I say. He just raises an eyebrow and carries on.

"Normally I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal." he tells Elena.

"What are you talking about?" she asks.

"Stefan's still drinking human blood." Damon says.

"What?! Immy, did you know?" she asks.

"We both found out last night." I say.

"Yeah, a month ago I would have rejoiced, but with the council back on the alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle." Damon says.

"I know he's been a little edgy but he said that was normal." Elena says.

"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house." Damon tells her.

"Oh my god." Elena says, sitting down on the couch.

"He has no idea what normal is, his entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood but he spent all this time fighting it when he should have been learning to control it and now it's controlling him instead." Damon says.

"I can't believe this. I mean, it's Stefan that we're talking about here." Elena says.

"Stefan on human blood Elena; he'll do anything, he'll say anything because he's not gonna want to stop. Trust me." Damon replies.

"This is all my fault; I'm the one who fed him the blood in the first place." Elena says, pacing.

"You can't blame yourself, he needed it." I say.

Stefan enters the room and looks at the three of us.

"What's going on in here?" he asks.

"I was just filling Elena in on your extra-curricular activities." Damon says.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan says with a laugh.

"I know about the blood, Stefan." Elena says.

"I'm gunna - uh, I'll be downstairs, drinking." Damon says, giving me a kiss then leaving.

"I was going to tell you." Stefan says with a smile.

"Of course you were." I say. Stefan glares at me.

"When?" Elena asks.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, the blood, it doesn't change anything." Stefan says.

"Yes it does." I retort.

"It's changing you." Elena tells him.

"Why? Because I kept it a secret from you? Come on Elena, look, giving the way you're reacting right now, can you really blame me for doing that?" Stefan says.

"She's reacting like that because you lied to her Stefan!" I exclaim.

"Are you hearing yourself right now? You've been stealing blood and lying and you say that everything's fine? Everything's not fine, Stefan!" Elena says.

"So what - so you, Imogen and Damon all of a sudden have everything figured out then?" Stefan asks.

"It's not about Imogen or Damon. It's about what's happening to you." Elena retorts.

"I know and I'm telling you that I'm fine. I'm fine. Please, come on. Elena I thought you...I thought you believed in me." Stefan says.

There's a knock in the door and Carol Lockwood enters.

"Imogen, Elena, let's go. The line-up's starting." Carol says.

"I just...I need a minute." Elena says.

"Neither of you are even dressed yet. Escorts wait downstairs, Stefan."

Stefan leaves the room, followed by Carol. We both change into our dresses. Elena's is blue and mine is red. We join Carol, Caroline and Tina Fell at the top of the stairs.

"Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore." Mayor Lockwood announces. Tina goes down the stairs.

"Has anyone seen Amber?" Carol asks.

"No, sorry." I reply.

Elena is looking over the railing to see if Stefan is downstairs. "Do you see Stefan down there?" she asks.

"Nope, just my boring fill in escort." Caroline replies.

"What happened to Matt?" Elena asks.

"They wouldn't let him out of work. Wait, what happened to Stefan?" Caroline asks.

"I don't know, he just disappeared somewhere, I don't know. What am I doing? I never should have gone through with this." Elena says.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asks.

"I need to find Stefan, this isn't me, I'm not this person anymore." Elena says.

"Elena..." I start to say. Caroline interrupts me.

"Errr, no, no, no way, no. You had your chance to drop out and believe me I was all for it because there is no way that I could beat you. Elena, you're doing this because it was important to your mom." She tells Elena.

"Miss Caroline Forbes and her escort Jeffrey Lockwood Hamilton." Mayor Lockwood says. Caroline goes down the stairs.

"Elena, you're next." Carol tells her, waving her over.

"Miss Elena Gilbert, escorted by Mister Stefan Salvatore." Mayor Lockwood says. Elena goes down the stairs and is met by a fill in escort.

"You ready?" Carol asks me. I nod in response.

"Miss Imogen Gilbert, escorted by Mister Damon Salvatore." Mayor Lockwood announces. I go down the stairs and see Damon waiting for me. As soon as our eyes meet everyone else fades away.

"What happened with Stefan?" I whisper as I reach the bottom and he takes my hand and starts leading me outside. We walk past Jenna and Ric with Scarlett who squeals as we walk past.

"I have no idea." He replies. "You look stunning, red really suits you."

"You look extremely handsome yourself." I reply. We join the others and stand opposite each other. Damon bows to me as I curtsey to him, then the music begins and the dance starts. The whole time we are dancing there is no one else except us. We smile at each other, the dance feeling magical. All too soon it ends.

"I'm going to see if I can find Stefan" he tells me before slipping off. I head up to the stage with the other girls so the winner can be announced.

"Where is Amber?" Caroline asks.

"I don't know." Elena tells her. I shrug.

"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Mayor Lockwood says. Everyone applauds. "So, without further ado it is my honour to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!"

"Congratulations!" Elena says.

"Congratulations! You deserve this!" I tell her.

"I actually won!" Caroline says. The three of us hug and then Mayor Lockwood comes over to give her the winner's sash.

Elena and I leave the stage and see Damon waiting for us.

"What is it, did you find him?" Elena asks.

"There were signs of a struggle in the upstairs bathroom. There was blood and that Amber girl is missing." Damon tells us

"Oh my god! He wouldn't hurt her, he won't!" Elena says.

"Let's just find him, okay? Let's get your coats, come on!" Damon says.

_'He would hurt her, wouldn't he?'_ I ask Damon through our blood bond.

_'I would love to say he wouldn't, but the chances are he would'_ Damon replies sadly.

_'I hope we find him before it's too late'_ I think.

_'You and me both babe.'_

We look around and eventually head to the woods. We see Stefan biting Amber, who is screaming.

"Stefan!" Elena shouts. He lets go of Amber.

"Stefan, come on get control. It's okay, come on. Breathe through it man." Damon says. Stefan grabs Damon and throws him against a tree.

"Stefan stop it!" Elena shouts.

"Damon!" I shout.

"I'm okay" Damon says, getting up.

_'I can give him an aneurysm to stop him'_ I think to Damon.

_'Do it'_ he replies.

I start muttering the aneurysm spell under my breath. Stefan stops trying to attack Damon and holds his head. I stop the spell

"It's okay. Stefan." Damon says. Stefan runs away.

Damon compels Amber and calls the Sheriff.

"She doesn't remember what happened." Liz tells Damon as she walks towards us. Elena and I are stood to one side pretending we don't know anything about Vampires.

"It's a good thing the girls got here when they did, she lost a lot of blood." Damon tells Liz.

"You didn't see anything?" Liz asks Elena and I.

"No, we just found her and then called Damon." Elena says.

"She'll be okay, won't she?" I ask.

"It looks like it yeah. Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here." Liz tells us.

"Okay." Elena says.

_'I'll find you soon. Go and get Scarlett.'_ Damon tells me.

"They didn't see the bite mark?" I hear Liz ask Damon as we walk away.

"No, I got here before they got too close. There was too much blood, they couldn't see it clearly." Damon replies.

As we walk up the stairs we see Ric walking out the doors to the Founder's Hall.

"Good, there you are. Jenna wanted me to get the car." he says. He looks at Elena and see how upset she is.

"What happened?" He asks.

"I'll leave you to explain whilst I find Jenna and get Scarlett." I tell Elena. She nods and I give her a quick hug before heading inside. It doesn't take me long to find Jenna who has a sleeping Scarlett in her arms.

"Hey Aunt Jenna." I say as I approach her.

"Hey. Someone is all partied out." She says with a smile.

"So it seems." I reply.

I get Scarlett's bag and take her in my arms. I start heading to the car when Damon finds us and takes Scarlett from me.

"Everything okay?" I ask.

"Amber will be fine. Stefan is at home. We need to do something." He says.

"Any ideas?" I ask.

"Lock him up" he replies with a shrug.

We get in the car and head home.

When we arrive we see Anna waiting outside. We get out of the car.

"All right now, this is getting weird." Damon says to Anna.

"We're here to talk." She replies as Pearl appears.

"Not in the mood, today's been a no good, very bad day, except for when I got to dance with my beautiful fiancée." Damon says.

"Annabelle tells me you're looking for something I took from Jonathan Gilbert." Pearl says.

"I'm listening." Damon replies, walking forwards. Pearl hands him the device. "What is it?"

"Johnathan was passionate about his inventions. He confided in me that he had created a detection device meant to track down the town's vampire element." Pearl says.

"It was a pocket watch." Damon tells her.

"That's what it turned out to be yes. But that's not what I stole. I discovered my mistake when I saw the watch in Jonathan's hand, the night they took us, its stile pointed at me." Pearl says.

Damon looks at the device Pearl gave him. "So what is this?"

"I have no idea but now it's yours." she replies.

"What's the catch?" Damon asks, ever the cynic.

"There is no catch. My daughter wants to stay here. I want to stay here. You refuse to trust us and for good reason. Consider this an apology."

We just look at them and walk into the house.

I take Scarlett upstairs and feed her before changing her diaper and getting her into her pyjamas. I settle her to sleep and change into my own pyjamas before heading back downstairs.

"Your sister is here. She's upstairs talking to Stefan. She got a vervain dart from Ric and she wants him locking up." Damon tells me.

"It's for the best." I tell him and wrap my arms around him.

"I know." He sighs, wrapping his arms around me. We stand there for a couple of minutes.

"She's done it." Damon says and we head upstairs to Stefan's room.

"Sure you want to do this?" Damon asks as we walk in.

"I'm sure." Elena replies.

Damon picks Stefan up and carries him to the basement, locking him in a cell. We follow him.

"There's no guarantee it's going to work." He tells Elena.

"It has to." She replies.

"Are you coming upstairs?" I ask her.

"I'm gonna stay here." she replies. I hug her and head upstairs with Damon. We go straight to our bedroom.

"What a day." I say.

"Tell me about it." Damon replies.

We climb in bed and I rest my head on his chest. Damon wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. We fall asleep quickly.


	22. We Let It Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next Chapter! 3 chapters in 3 days! Enjoy!

**February 14th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: This Is The Time (Ballast); Nothing More**

_This is the time that we let it go_

_These are the words that will take us home_

_Singing the song that's inside us all_

_If we don't open our eyes we're walking blind_

**Imogen's POV**

It's been a week since Damon and Elena locked Stefan up in the basement to get him over his little blood problem. Damon is worried about him, although he's trying to show that he's not. He's been out and hunted animals to get blood, but Stefan is refusing to eat.

I'm in our bedroom doing college work after putting Scarlett down for a nap when Damon comes in.

"Is he still refusing to eat?" I ask.

"Yep. He's going to start dessicating soon." Damon replies.

"So he's being a drama queen." I say with a sigh.

"You could put it that way. He's feeling guilty for attacking that girl. At least we stopped him before he went full on Ripper." Damon says, taking away my college books and wrapping his arms around me.

"I suppose we should be thankful for that, but this whole sulking thing is a bit childish if you ask me. I think he should have learned to control himself on human blood instead of denying his nature for so long and acting like he's better than you because of it." I say.

"I've been saying that for decades Imz." Damon replies. "I've tried to help him in the past but it's never ended well. Either that or Lexi came along and blamed me for everything then got him back on animal blood."

"So another one that only see's the bad side of you huh?" I ask.

"Yep. Even before I left her to burn on a rooftop in the 70's" he replies.

"Do you think she could get through to him?" I ask.

"Perhaps, but I'd rather not call her so she can blame me for it all."

"That's a fair point. I hate how everyone twists all the bad things around to blame you even when it's not your fault."

"You and me both Imz." he replies with a sigh.

We hear Scarlett wake up, so Damon goes to get her. My phone rings and I check the caller ID. It's Elena.

"Hey Elena."

_"Hey Immy. I just wanted to check in on Stefan."_

"Damon said he's still refusing to eat."

_"Why is he doing this Immy?"_

"From what I can tell, guilt. No doubt because he pretends to be so much better than other Vampires when the reality is he's just like them."

_"Not helpful, Imogen."_ she says and hangs up. Think I hit a nerve.

Damon comes back in with Scarlett who squeals when she sees me. Damon puts her on the bed and she crawls over to me. I give her a cuddle.

"I just got a phone call from Ric." Damon tells me.

"I didn't know he had your number." I say.

"He didn't. I have no idea how he got it. Anyway, he's apparently been doing some digging and has come up with an address in Grove Hill that ties in with a lot of phone calls made to your Uncle John. We're going to check it out." He says.

"Are you thinking Isobel?" I ask.

"Perhaps. Either way I'd rather he didn't get killed. I kind of like him. He was badass when he helped us rescue Stefan."

"He was, and Aunt Jenna likes him." I reply.

"You coming with us or staying here?" he asks me.

"I'll stay here. Need to finish this work before tomorrow. Don't get yourself killed."

"I won't." He replies, then gives me a kiss and heads downstairs to wait for Ric.

* * *

A few hours later Scarlett is in bed for the night. I'm on one couch reading a book and Elena is on the other, writing in her journal.

Damon comes home and lifts my legs up before sitting down and putting my legs over his.

"How did it go?" I ask.

"Pretty pointless." He replies. "One of the tomb vamps, Henry, was staying there. Uncle John has been helping him adjust to life in the modern world and to keep tabs on the other tomb vamps. I did get to witness Ric have an existential crisis."

"I'm assuming Henry is dead?" I say.

"You know me so well. It was Ric actually, after saying and I quote 'Let's not kill anyone tonight'." I chuckle at that.

"Has Stefan eaten yet Elena?" Damon says.

"Don't pretend like you care Damon." she replies. I roll my eyes.

"Just curious" Damon tells her.

"He's not eaten yet, but I think he's getting there. He has a lot of guilt to deal with and it doesn't help you spent the last 145 years punishing him because Katherine got caught." Elena says.

"So once again Stefan has twisted everything around to be Damon's fault." I snap, annoyed.

"No, it's no ones fault, but Damon isn't exactly innocent. He's spent his whole life making Stefan miserable." Elena says to me.

Damon stands up, visibly annoyed.

"Let me ask you a question, Elena. In all this important soul-searching and cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story?" Damon asks her.

"He said there was more." She replies.

"There's a lot more. As usual Stefan has only told you what he wants to tell you so he looks like a saint and Damon looks bad." I say.

"Then tell me!" Elena says.

Damon tells Elena about how they made the decision not to turn, and then Stefan fed and forced Damon to, explaining the reason why Damon has spent years punishing him.

"From the moment Stefan had his first taste of human blood, he was a different person. I suppose I should thank him. It's been a hell of a ride. Ironically I've been trying to put the past behind us and work on our relationship since I've been back, it seems Stefan doesn't see that." Damon says .

"So that's why he won't feed. He said he wanted to die." Elena says and heads down to the basement.

Damon sits back down and I cuddle up to him. He wraps his arms around me and plays with my hair. Elena reappears a couple minutes later.

"He's gone, and he left this." she says, showing us Stefan's daylight ring.

"How did he get out?" Damon asks.

"I left the door open and told him when he was ready to talk I'd be up here." She says.

"Well that was dumb." I say.

"Not helping Imogen!" Elena exclaims. "Where would he be?"

"The quarry, where it all started." Damon tells her and she walks out.

"Do you think she'll get him back?" I ask.

"I hope so." he replies.

Damon gets a drink and I read my book again whilst he tries to distract me as we wait. A while later Elena and Stefan walk in the room.

"Little boy lost." Damon says to Stefan.

"I'll be upstairs." Elena says. She gives me a pointed look to tell me to leave the brothers alone to talk.

"Good night Stefan." I say and head upstairs to wait for Damon.

I check on Scarlett then head to our room and go for a shower. I'm joined by Damon once he comes upstairs.

"Everything okay?" I ask as he massages shampoo into my hair.

"Yeah. I told him my guilt is mine, not his and to get over it. He will be fine now."

"Good. I know you've been worried about him." I reply and kiss him.

Once we've finished in the shower we head to bed.

* * *

**February 15th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up wrapped in Damon's arms as usual. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have a sexy man who loves me and a beautiful daughter. I can't wait marry him. I feel his arms tighten around me and soft kisses being peppered on the back of my neck and shoulders. I roll over in his arms and meet his gaze.

"Morning beautiful." He says, kissing my lips.

"Morning," I say with a yawn.

We lie there in comfortable silence for a while.

"I can't believe we're getting married in a few months." I tell him.

"Me either." He replies.

"I was thinking..." I say nervously and then trail off.

"Thinking what?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Were you serious about having another baby?" I ask.

He looks at me for a long moment. I can feel what he is feeling and it's curiosity, amazement and love.

"Of course I was, but only if you want to as well." he replies.

"I want to. I was thinking maybe once we get married." I say, blushing.

"I'd like that. I missed out on you being pregnant and I wasn't there for Scarlett's birth. Well I was there but I wasn't. And I missed out on her first few months. I want to experience all of that with you." he says.

"Wait, what do mean, you were there but you weren't?" I ask.

"Well you know I was here months before we met in the coffee shop?" He asks. I nod. "The night you had her I was at the hospital. So I was there but not in the room with you."

"Why were you there?" I ask.

"To make sure you were okay." he replies, pressing a kiss to my head. "So are we talking honeymoon baby?"

"I'd like that." I reply.

"Honeymoon baby it is." He replies with a smirk.

"I love you." I say, kissing his lips.

"And I love you." He replies, deepening the kiss.

We hear Scarlett start to babble on the baby monitor.

"Looks like any thoughts you had of practicing will have to wait Damon." I say as I hop out of bed to go and get her. I hear Damon chuckling behind me since I knew exactly what he was thinking about; I could feel his lust through our bond.

I change Scarlett and bring her into bed with us to feed her. She only feeds from me in the morning and at bedtime now, and it makes me a little sad, but I'm also excited to give her a little brother or sister.

Once she is fed we get dressed and go downstairs for breakfast. I make pancakes and bacon whilst Damon gets himself some blood. We're nearly finished when Damon's phone rings.

"It's Ric." He says before answering it.

The call is short and Damon gives me a serious look once he's done.

"Ric wants us to meet at the school." he tells me.

"Did he say why?" I ask.

"Nope."

"No doubt more drama." I sigh. He nods and we head to the school.

* * *

We walk into Ric's classroom to see Elena, Stefan and Ric all looking very serious.

_'Yup, drama, and surprise surprise it involves Elena and Stefan.'_ I think to Damon. I see him smirk in response.

"Damon, Imogen, thanks for coming." Ric says to us.

"Sorry I'm late. My dog ate my uh...never mind." Damon says, trying to lighten the mood but trailing off when he realises none of them are in the mood to joke.

"What's with all the furrowed brows?" He asks.

"I saw Isobel last night." Ric says.

"Isobel is here? In Mystic Falls?" Damon asks.

"I thought she didn't want anything to do you" I say to Elena. "You know after she compelled that man to tell you so and then kill himself."

Elena shrugs in response.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?" Damon asks.

"No." Ric replies.

"No they're not?" Damon says.

"No, I didn't ask."

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

"Damon, it's not an interrogation." I tell him. He ignores me and carries on.

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I don't know."

"Did words completely escape you?"

"No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions."

I decide to interrupt to shut Damon up, I can see Ric is uncomfortable.

"So what the heck does she want, and why the about turn when she warned Elena off?" I ask.

"She wants to see me. And I don't know why." Elena says.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants." Stefan pipes up. I roll my eyes. Elena just said that.

"She's threatening to go on a killing spree if Elena doesn't meet with her." Ric says.

"I'd like to see her try." I retort. Elena may annoy me at times, but we grew up as sisters, even if biologically we're not. She's still my family.

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it." she says, looking at me. I understand, if I had the opportunity to meet my Mom I would do the same. I nod in response. Ric goes to make the call to arrange the meeting.

"I'll drop Scarlett off with Grams." I tell Damon.

"Okay. I'll call you when we know when and where she wants to meet." he tells me. We kiss and I leave with Scarlett.

* * *

I'm sat on a bench in the town square with Damon and Ric. Isobel made it clear that they were not to be inside the Grill when Elena met her. Stefan is inside and we're waiting outside. I could have gone in but I wouldn't have been able to sit close enough to hear and Damon didn't want me to go without him.

"I hate being out here when my sister is in there with a potentially dangerous Vampire." I say.

"Isobel made it clear we're not to step a foot inside." Ric replies.

"And I wasn't going to let you go in there without me." Damon tells me before turning to Ric. "No one is going to kill her in a crowded restaurant."

"No one is going to kill her period!" Ric says.

"She ruined your life and you still want to protect her?" Damon says.

"She's my wife. Was my wife. I looked for the woman I married but she wasn't there. Whoever that is, she's cold and detached." Ric says.

"Yeah, she's given up her humanity." Damon tells him.

"Yeah, see, I don't get that. Stefan has his humanity, he's a good guy. And you're a dick and you turned my wife, but I still see something human in you. But with her there was...nothing." Ric says.

"He's not always a dick. Get to know him and you'll see what I mean." I say.

"You can turn it off, like a button you can press. I mean, Stefan's different. He wants the whole human experience. He wants to feel every episode of How I Met Your Mother, so he shuts his feelings out. The problem is, as a vampire, your instinct is not to feel. Isobel chose the easier road - no guilt, no shame, no regret. I mean, come on, if you could turn it off, wouldn't you?" Damon says.

"You haven't." Ric says.

"I did. For a long time I did." Damon says with a sigh.

"I think it's time to explain things to him Damon." I say. He nods.

"I had my humanity off for 50 years. Then I met this one at a party and it flipped back on." He tells Ric, inclining his head at me.

"How did you do that?" Ric asks me.

"We're soulmates." I tell him. Ric nods. We've told him that before.

"As soon as we met, a soulmate bond formed between us. That bond flipped my humanity back on." Damon elaborates.

"We have a book at the Boarding House if you want to read more into it?" I say.

"I would like that." Ric says.

We see Isobel leave the Grill, followed shortly after by Stefan and a crying Elena. Elena explains that Isobel wants the invention Pearl gave to Damon.

"No chance." Damon says.

Elena heads home and we head to the Boarding House with Ric. I get him the book on Soulmates.

"Before I let you read this I need you to promise that you will keep our secrets, as this book will reveal things about Scarlett that no one can ever know." I say.

"I promise" Ric says and I hand him the book.

"I'm going to get Scarlett from Grams" I say and give Damon a kiss before going to get her. When I get back Damon and Ric are drinking bourbon and Ric is still reading.

I pop Scarlett down to play with her toys and sit next to Damon.

Ric finishes and closes the book.

"So you two have a special connection?" He asks.

"Yep. An extremely strong one, or so we've been told." Damon says. "The history teacher before you tried to force himself on Imogen. I could sense she was in danger."

"You killed him?"Ric asks.

"Yep. He was threatening my soulmate. We're very protective of each other." Damon says.

"I can see that." Ric says. He looks to Scarlett. "So she is part Vampire."

"She's a hybrid. I'm a witch, as you know, so she's a witch, though she won't come into her powers until her 16th birthday. She's also part Vampire but won't need human blood until she is a teenager." I tell him.

"Imogen is not just any witch either." Damon tells him. "She's a Jacobs witch. They are descended from one of the most powerful witches ever known and she has access to several types of magic whereas your average witch can only access one type." Damon tells him.

"It also means when I turn I will actually become stronger as a witch, as one type of magic is linked to the emotions I feel, and those are heightened as a Vampire." I say.

"When you turn?" Ric asks.

"Yes. we're soulmates, he's immortal, and we have an immortal daughter. I'm not going to stay mortal." I say. Ric nods.

"And as if we haven't thrown enough at you, I'm also not your average Vampire." Damon says. "I'm descended from another powerful witch and I have extra powers that normal Vampires don't have. Stefan dies too, but he doesn't have access as he feeds on animals."

"Wow, I'm not surprised you didn't tell me everything that night I tried to kill you Damon." Ric says. "I know you said there was more but I wasn't expecting all of this."

"Do you understand why this has to be kept quiet?" I ask.

"Of course I do, and I will keep your secrets." Ric tells us.

Once Ric leaves, Damon gets the invention Pearl gave him.

"You worked out what it is yet?" I ask.

"Nope." He replies.

I take it from him. "It's spelled, I can feel the magic in it." I say.

Just then the door opens and Stefan, Elena and Bonnie walk in.

"Isobel took Jeremy and she said she'll kill him if we don't give her the device." Elena says, crying. I feel tears spring to my eyes. Damon wraps his arms around me.

"I was going through Emily's grimoire, and it would seem that she spelled Johnathan Gilbert's inventions to make them work." Bonnie says, opening the grimoire. She shows us the Gilbert rings, the Vampire compass and the invention that Isobel wants, which is a weapon against Vampires.

"That's why I felt the magic in it." I say.

"If Bonnie takes away the spell, we can give it to Isobel and save Jeremy. She'll never know." Elena says.

"Can you remove the spell?" Damon asks me.

"No, it's Bennett bloodline specific. Only a Bennett witch can remove it." I say.

"Can you do it?" Damon asks Bonnie.

"Yes, I can." she replies.

Damon sighs and hands Bonnie the invention. She removes the spell and hands it to Elena.

"Now what?" Damon asks.

"Now we give it to Isobel." Elena replies.

* * *

We're back in the town square so Elena can give the device to Isobel. Ric is at the Boarding House with Scarlett and Damon, Stefan and I are hiding in the shadows.

We see Isobel approach Elena. I can't hear the conversation but I know Damon and Stefan can. When Stefan indicates to do so, we all step out behind Elena. I'm in the middle with Stefan on my left and Damon on my right. Damon has tight hold of my hand.

"For god sakes, call home." Isobel says to Elena.

"What?" Elena asks.

"Call home and ask to speak to your brother Jeremy." Isobel tells her.

Elena makes the call and finds Jeremy is at home. I breathe a big sigh of relief.

"You were never gonna hurt him." Elena says.

"No, I was going to kill him. Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any." Isobel says.

_'And don't we all know it.'_ I think to Damon.

"But you took a risk with Damon. How did you know that he was gonna give it to me?" Elena asks.

"Because I took Jeremy. He and Imogen are soulmates, he's in love with her. He would do anything for her." She replies.

"Well duh." I mutter. Damon smirks at me.

"Thank you." Elena finally says.

"For what?" Isobel asks.

"For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact." Elena sneers at her.

"Goodbye, Elena. As long as you have a Salvatore on your arm, you're doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know that you're not Katherine." Isobel says, and leaves. Elena walks over to us and hugs Stefan. Damon and I leave to relieve Ric of babysitting duty.

Once Ric has gone and Scarlett is in bed we are sat on our bed talking.

"I think I've worked out who Elena's birth father is." Damon tells me.

"Oh? Who do you think it is?" I ask.

"John Gilbert." He says. My eyes widen in surprise.

"Uncle John?" I ask. "Why do you think it's him?"

"Isobel dates John when she was 15. She got pregnant and ended up at the doctor's office of John's brother. Can't be just coincidence."

"You're right, it adds up." I say.

"I'm going to tell Stefan and he can tell her. It's about time he told her big news himself." Damon says. I chuckle.

"You're absolutely right." I reply.

We get into bed and, as usual, fall asleep with our bodies wrapped together.


	23. So Much At Stake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of Season 1! And the start of Season 2. I've decided I will continue with Season 2 since S2E1 literally follows on from S1E22. I will start a new story for the start of Season 3 but I do plan on doing some chapters for the Summer when Stefan is off with Klaus.
> 
> I honestly thought when I started this that no one would read it, but the numbers of hits and kudos show me otherwise. They keep me motivated to carry on. comments are also good, please let me know what you like and don't like.
> 
> Exciting things coming this season, not just in relation to the Sacrifice. I'm not to give any spoilers, but there will be several things off canon that I have in mind.

**February 25th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Atlas Falls; Shinedown**

_Don't give up now, there's already so much at stake_

_If Atlas falls, I'll rise up and carry us all the way_

_It won't pull me down_

_The weight of impossible days_

_I'll stand tall_

_I'll rise up and carry us all the way_

**Imogen's POV**

Today is Founder's Day, and Damon and I are part of the parade on the Miss Mystic Falls float. Caroline designed it so we have to wear period dress. I'm secretly excited to see Damon dressed as he would have been as a human. He isn't impressed at all.

I'm at the school getting ready with Elena. Jenna is helping us and Grams is looking after Scarlett. Grams adores her and Scarlett loves her too.

"Ouch, this dress hurts." Elena says.

"Suck it in, baby." Jenna replies.

"I can't believe women used to wear corsets all the time. I swear they're the Devil's invention." I whine. Jenna and Elena laugh at me.

Elena is wearing a green dress in the traditional corset and full skirt style, and mine is blue.

Once we're ready we head outside to find Damon and Stefan. My breath catches in my throat when I see him. Damon is wearing black trousers, white shirt, cravat, waistcoat and long suit jacket with dress shoes. Stefan is wearing similar. They both turn and stare at us.

Elena and I glance at each other and then curtsey.

I head over to Damon and Stefan leads Elena away somewhere.

"Don't you look handsome." I say to Damon.

"And you look beautiful." He replies. "It's unnerving how much like Katherine Elena looks in this style of dress though."

"Oh of course. I didn't even think of that. So, this is how you looked as a human?"

"Yep, though my hair was longer so it curled." he replies, pulling me close and kissing me gently.

"I hate corsets." I tell him. He laughs in response and wraps his arms around me.

It's not long before the parade is due to start so we take our places on the float.

After the parade has finished I go to get changed. I agreed to meet Damon at the Grill, and Elena comes with me.

We enter the Grill and Damon looks at us. We go over to him and he kisses me and wraps his arms around my waist.

"I like you better like this Elena. The period look, it...didn't suit you." Damon says.

"Is that an insult?" Elena asks.

"Actually Elena, it's a compliment." he replies.

"You looked just like Katherine in that dress, and he hates her." I elaborate.

"Gotcha." She replies. "I'm going to find Stefan."

We watch her leave and then Damon turns and gives me another kiss.

"You look better in modern clothes too, though they would look better on our bedroom floor." He says, doing his eye thing. I just laugh and rest my head on his chest.

* * *

A while later we are walking through the square enjoying the celebrations when Anna comes up to us.

"You're still around?" Damon asks her. John killed her Mom and Harper last week. We thought she would have left town.

"There's something you need to know. The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight." Anna says.

"How do you know this?" Damon asks. I just look at them with wide eyes.

"I went to them. They think I'm with them but I'm not. They want the Founding Families dead." Anna says.

"When is this supposed to happen?" Damon asks.

"When the fireworks start." she replies.

"Oh shit." I say.

"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on them." Damon says.

"Then we can't be here!" Anna exclaims.

"It doesn't work, it's been deactivated." He tells her.

"Well, then a lot of people are gonna die." She replies.

"Where are they right now?" Damon asks.

"They're already here, Damon." Anna replies.

"We need a plan. Only you two and Stefan will be able to recognise them, right?" I say. They both nod.

"So we need to find Ric and split up. Kill them before they can kill innocent people." I say.

The three of us go looking for Ric. It doesn't take long to find him.

"Ric!" Damon calls.

"Yeah?" he replies.

"You keep those nifty little vampire darts in the car?" Damon asks.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires. I think we might need a stake or two." Damon tells him.

"Yeah, got it."

"Meet us at my Dad's old office" I say. He nods and heads off.

Damon, Anna and I then go looking for Stefan and Elena.

"Tomb vamps are here. Founding families are their target." Damon tells Stefan.

"Elena, find Jeremy and get out of here." I say. She nods and dashes off. The rest of us head to my dad's old office to meet Ric and get weapons.

When we arrive we find John about to activate the device.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Damon asks.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." John replies. He activates the device and nothing happens.

"It was deactivated. Now the square is crawling with Vampires that are out to kill." I tell him. He gulps and looks extremely scared.

Ric walks in with Bonnie and the weapons.

"We need to take them out, fast." Damon says.

"Imogen and I could do the same spell that was on the device. I'm assuming there's a plan for taking out the Vampires that drop?" Bonnie says.

"Yeah, the deputies are set to inject them with vervain and bring them here to the basement." John says.

"It will affect you three too, are you okay with that?" Bonnie asks.

Damon, Stefan and Anna all nod.

"Whatever needs to be done." Damon says.

"So you don't get any ideas, John" I say, then knock him out.

"Not having him take any of you three down there." I shrug as they all look at me in amazement.

"Ric, go round the square, check it's working." I say. He nods in response.

Bonnie and I hold hands and start chanting. Damon, Stefan and Anna all drop to the floor clutching their heads. My head also feels like someone is piercing it with needles but I do my best to carry on. Ric comes back after a couple of minutes.

"They dropped, deputies are bringing them here to burn them." He says.

Bonnie and I stop the spell and I collapse on the floor.

"Imogen?!" Damon calls.

"It affected me too." I gasp. Damon helps me up, and cups my face.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"I am now." I reply.

We leave before John can wake up and the deputies arrive with the Vampires. We find Elena and Jeremy and explain what happened and that Bonnie and I had to do the same spell as was on the device to take them out.

_'Do you think Anna could stay at the boarding house with us? I like her and she's on her own now John killed her Mom.'_ I think to Damon.

_'If she wants, we have enough spare rooms.'_ He replies.

"Anna, would you like to stay at the Boarding House? Then you're not alone?" I ask.

"Are you serious?" She asks. Damon nods and Stefan shrugs.

"I am. I know you like Jeremy a lot, and you came to us tonight about the tomb Vampires. I trust you so I would be happy to invite you in and have you stay with us." I say.

"Then yes, that would be great." She says with a smile.

After that Stefan takes Anna to get her things and we agree that I will meet them at the Boarding House. Elena goes to get her things from the school, my stuff is already in my car. Ric goes to find Jenna and Damon says he'll take Jeremy home. I go to pick up Scarlett and head home.

Once there I see Stefan and Anna waiting outside. I get out of the car and Stefan comes to take Scarlett from me. I go in the house and turn to Anna.

"Anna, please come in." I say. She smiles and walks in. Stefan hands Scarlett to me and shows Anna to her room. Damon arrives shortly after, as I'm feeding Scarlett in her room.

"So, errr, something happened with Elena." He says.

"What? Is she okay?" I ask.

"She's fine. It's just... Little Gilbert and I met her outside the house. She said she wanted to talk so he went in and then she tried to kiss me. I didn't let her and pushed her away." He says.

"Why would she do that? I ask.

"I have no idea. Jenna opened the door and saw her and she wasn't happy either." He says.

"It doesn't make sense. She knows we're soulmates and you will never love anyone else, and she's with Stefan." I say.

"I know. I will talk to her." He says.

Scarlett finishes feeding and Damon takes her to put her in her crib. Once she is settled we head into our room.

"Why did the spell affect you Imz?" Damon asks me.

"I don't know. Maybe because of the type of witch that I am?" I say.

"Perhaps. I'm glad you're okay though." He says, kissing my head.

"I'm glad you're okay. I'm sorry we had to hurt you, Stefan and Anna to take out the tomb vamps." I say.

"It was the right thing. It stopped them from killing anyone." He says.

"My phone rings and I check the caller ID. I see that it's Bonnie.

"Hey Bon, what's up?" I say.

_"There was an accident, Caroline's in the hospital, she's in a bad way."_ She says.

"We'll be right there." I tell her and hang up.

Damon overheard the conversation and is already heading out the bedroom door, presumably to get Scarlett.

We arrive at the hospital and I find Bonnie and Matt outside Caroline's room. Damon saw Liz on the way in and stopped to talk to her.

"Hey Matt, Bonnie. How is she?" I ask.

"She's not good." Matt says sadly.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Tyler was driving and his head started hurting. He lost control of the car." He says.

Bonnie and I exchange a glance. She's thinking the same thing I am; the spell must have affected him. He's not a Vampire though.

Elena arrives and Matt walks away to get a coffee.

"How is she?" Elena asks.

"She's weak, they don't know if she's going to make it." Bonnie tells her.

"Is there anything either of you can do? Like a spell or something?" she asks.

I shake my head, Bonnie does the same.

"Neither of us have done anything like that before. We don't know any healing spells" I say. Damon arrives behind us with Scarlett.

"I could give Caroline some of my blood." He says.

"No way." Elena says.

"Just enough to heal her. She'll be safe here in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day. She'll be better." He says.

"It's too risky" Elena says.

"Do it." Bonnie says. Damon looks at me.

"Give her your blood. If you don't she might die." I say. Damon nods.

Bonnie leaves to go find Matt. Damon gives me a meaningful look then turns to Elena.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now but we should talk about what happened tonight." he says.

"Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into the house and almost killed John." she replies.

"What happened to John?" I ask.

"What? When? What are you talking about? After I left?" Damon says.

"He had his fingers chopped off." Elena says to me, before turning to Damon. "You were there?"

"Come on, Elena, you know I was." He says, getting irritated.

"When were you at the house?" She asks.

"Really? Earlier, on the porch. I took Jeremy home and you met us on the porch. You tried to kiss me." He says.

"I don't have time for this Damon." She tells him. Jenna arrives and joins us.

"I came as soon as I got your message. How is John?" She says to Elena.

"Where have you been?" Elena asks.

"At the fire department, I had to fill out a report. I told you earlier." Jenna says.

"No, you didn't." Elena replies.

"Yes, I did."

"No, Jenna, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"Oh! You've got to be kidding me." Damon says.

I realise what he means.

"Katherine." I say.

"Yep."

"Oh my god." Elena says.

"That means Jenna invited her in." Damon says.

"What? When?" Jenna says.

"Earlier, on the porch. When 'Elena' tried to kiss me and you saw. It wasn't Elena." Damon says.

"Shit. After you told me to be careful and never to invite anyone who looks Elena in just in case it's Katherine." Jenna says. "How could I be so stupid."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure I've seen boundary spells in my grimoires. I'll see if there is one that can be keyed to let specific people in and out and keep anyone not keyed into the spell out." I say. Jenna and Elena both sigh a little in relief.

"We should head back to your house." Damon says to Elena and Jenna. "If Katherine attacked John we should check on Little Gilbert."

"Stefan is with him. He stayed at the house to keep an eye on him after John's attack." Elena tells us.

"Then we can tell him Katherine is back too." Damon says. "I'll come back later once Caroline's out of surgery to give her my blood."

We all agree and head to the Gilbert House.

"Stefan?" Elena calls as we enter.

"Elena." Stefan croaks, getting up from the floor.

"What happened?" Elena asks Stefan.

"Katherine happened." Damon says with a sigh.

"I'm going to check on Jeremy." Jenna says.

"I'll come with you. We need to tell him about Katherine." Elena says. The two of them head upstairs.

"Can one of you put Scarlett in the crib in my old room?" I ask.

"Of course." Jenna says, taking the sleeping Scarlett from Damon's arms.

Damon, Stefan and I head into the kitchen.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asks.

"No." Stefan replies.

"She certainly knows how to make an entrance." Damon says.

"She said she fooled one of us, at least. What does that mean?" Stefan asks.

"She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight." Damon replies.

"I told Jeremy about Katherine being here, and that she's been invited in. I also told him you're going to find a spell to make the house safe again." Elena says.

"I'll go through the grimoires when we get home and get it in place as soon as possible." I say.

"Are you alright?" Stefan asks Elena.

"No, I'm not alright. I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone things would get better." Elena says.

"I know. We all did." Stefan replies.

"We need to know why she's back. Is she trying to kill Elena?" I ask.

"If Katherine wanted her dead; there's zero that can be done about it; she would be dead but she's not. So clearly she has other plans." Damon tells me.

"Right and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process. What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?" Stefan asks Damon.

"To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead. She tried to kiss me." Damon replies.

"And you thought it was me?" Elena asks.

"What do you mean she tried to kiss you?" Stefan asks.

"Well, you know, when two lips pucker and they go..." Damon says, puckering his lips. Stefan vamp speeds towards him. I wave my hand and he freezes in place.

"Seriously Stefan? Katherine tried to kiss him. He pushed her away. It wasn't Elena and you know that he won't ever look at another woman besides me." I say as Damon comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Stefan wait, he kissed Katherine, not me. I wouldn't do that. We don't have time for this guys." Elena says.

"No Elena, get it right. Katherine tried to kiss him, he stopped her." I say. I unfreeze Stefan and he goes over to Elena.

"John must know something. There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him." Elena says.

"She's Katherine. She loves to play games and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's been up to before she wants you to know." Damon says.

"No, actually Elena's right, John could know something through Isobel. Your mother, she was in touch with Katherine so maybe we can go to the hospital and get him to talk." Stefan says.

"I've got a better idea." Damon says.

"What's that?" Elena asks.

"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch." Damon replies.

"Is that smart?" Elena asks.

"If Katherine thinks she's been ignored it will lure her out, she'll make a move." Damon replies with a shrug.

"Yeah? And then what?" Stefan asks.

"Stake her, rip her head off, something poetic. We'll see." Damon replies and leaves the kitchen.

"He has a point." I say. "From what he's told me about 1864, she does like playing games." I say, and follow him.

Damon goes to get Scarlett and we head home for the night. I put Scarlett to bed whilst Damon goes back to the hospital to give Caroline his blood. I'm looking through my grimoires for the spell I need to keep Katherine out of the Gilbert house.

"You're still awake." He says, entering our bedroom.

"You know I can't sleep alone. You spoilt me." I say. He laughs in response.

"And you spoilt me. I don't like sleeping alone either." He says, taking his clothes off and climbing into bed.

"Did you find the spell you need?" He asks.

"Yes. It's a boundary spell which I can tie a talisman to. I then need to key the 'allowed' Vampires to the talisman with a few drops of their blood. Humans and the keyed Vampires will be able to come and go as they please, but no other Vampires will be able to get in, even with an invitation." I tell him.

"That actually sounds better than the usual Vampire boundary. Would it continue if you died?" He asks.

"Yes, as the spell will be linked to the talisman not me." I say.

"Might be worth doing it for here too at some point." He says.

"Yes, it would." I reply. I put the grimoires on the table next to the bed and Damon turns the light off. I rest my head on his chest and let his scent soothe me to sleep.


	24. You're My Amaranthine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: One point to note; as far as everyone is concerned the device was activated and that is what took out the Vampires, Mayor Lockwood and Tyler. The only ones who know it was a spell are Ric, Bonnie, Imogen, John, Damon, Stefan, Anna, Elena, Jeremy and Jenna.
> 
> Thanks again for the new reviews, follows and favourites. I don't own anything TVD related.

**February 26th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Amaranthine; Amaranth**

_Like a sign_

_Like a dream_

_You're my amaranthine_

_You are all I needed, believe me_

_Like we drift in a stream_

_Your beauty serene_

_There's nothing else_

_In life I ever need_

_My dream, amaranthine_

**Imogen's POV**

The next morning we discover that Mayor Lockwood was affected by the spell and died in the basement with the tomb Vampires. I can't bring myself to feel bad as he was a dick and I never liked him.

"Don't you think it's strange that Mayor Lockwood and Tyler were both affected by the device spell Bonnie and I did?" I ask Damon. He's playing with Scarlett, making his fangs show and pretending to eat her. He hasn't done it in a while and she thinks it's hilarious.

"I do. We need to find out why and what they are." He replies.

"I need you, Stefan and Anna to come to the Gilbert house with me this morning." I say to him.

"So you can do the boundary spell?" He asks. I nod in response.

"Sure. Then we need to go to the Lockwood's." He replies.

"Urgh. Do we have to?" I whine. Damon chuckles at me.

"Yes, we do. I'm no doubt going to be summoned as part of the council because the Mayor was affected, and we should pay our respects." He replies.

"Since when did you care?" I ask.

"I don't, but as founding families we have to keep up appearances." He sighs.

"Okay. But we're not staying long." I reply. He smiles at me.

I head to the shower. When I come back out Damon has gotten Scarlett and himself ready for the day. We go downstairs and grab breakfast then shout Stefan and Anna and we all head to the Gilbert house, grimoire in hand.

"Hi Aunt Jenna, Ric." I say as we enter the kitchen where they're eating breakfast.

"What are you all doing here?" Jenna asks. Ric waves hello at us. Elena and Jeremy come into the kitchen and join us.

"I've come to do the boundary spell I told you about. I need something to use as a talisman that I can leave on the front door and I need these three here so I can key them into the talisman so they can still come and go." I tell her.

"I feel so bad that I forgot about the warning never to tell 'Elena' to come inside the house." Jenna says sadly.

"It's okay Aunt Jenna, the spell will fix that. And inviting a Vampire in won't allow them in anymore, they will only get in if I key them into the talisman." I say. Jenna nods in response.

"I just spoke to Bonnie, she said Caroline's doing a lot better." Elena tells us.

"I'm pleased, thank you Damon." I say. He smiles at me.

I hand Scarlett to Damon and go to find something to use as a talisman. I find a pentagram necklace I used to love when I was younger, but haven't worn in years, and head back downstairs.

"Damon, Stefan, Anna, please can you go out on the porch?" I ask. The three nod and head outside. I cast the boundary spell, chanting silently in my head for several minutes. I stand inside the house when I've finished and look at the three Vampires.

"Try and come in." I say. Damon steps up to the door and is stopped by an invisible barrier. The same happens when Stefan and Anna try.

"The boundary spell works then." Damon says.

"You say that like you doubted me." I say, raising my eyebrows.

"Of course not." He replies.

I step outside with the necklace.

"Damon, can you put a few drops of blood on there please?" I ask. He nicks his finger on his fang and a few drops spill onto the necklace. I chant in my head again.

"You should now be able to enter." I say. He walks through the door.

"Yep." He says, smiling. This is probably the first time he's ever seen me cast a complicated spell, other times I've used magic were mainly for self defence.

I repeat the process with Stefan and Anna, and they are both able to walk into the house. I secure the talisman to the inside of the door with magic so that it can't be removed.

We head back into the kitchen and takes seats after getting coffee. Scarlett is sitting with Jenna and babbling at Ric.

"Stefan and I are going to the hospital to see Uncle John." Elena says. Anna and Jeremy head upstairs. Elena and Stefan leave and head to the hospital. Damon and I sit with Jenna and Ric for a while chatting. Scarlett is still with Jenna.

"We should head to the Lockwood's." Damon says a while later. I groan in response.

We leave and head to the Lockwood house. As we enter Damon is whisked off with Carol and Liz. I'm left with Tyler.

"Hey Ty, sorry about your Dad." I say.

"Thanks Imogen." He says. "I can't believe how big she's getting."

"I know, they grow so fast." I reply.

As we're talking a truck pulls up and Mason Lockwood steps out.

"So the black sheep returns." Tyler says.

"Mason?" I say.

"Tyler? Imogen?" he says.

"Yeah." Tyler says.

"That's me." I say.

"What happened to you? In my mind you're twelve years old." Mason says to Tyler.

"Then that's two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason." Tyler replies. They hug.

"Imogen, you've grown up! And who is this?" he says, pointing to Scarlett.

"This is Scarlett, my daughter." I reply.

"Wow. I didn't know you had a kid." He says.

"Come on inside Mason" Tyler says and the pair walk away. I wander around for a while before I see Damon. I go over to him and he takes Scarlett from me before kissing me softly.

"Carol isn't happy about the 'device' being used and wants someone punished for the Mayor's death. Liz tried to stop it but ended up handcuffed in her office. They're at each others throats and I've just been trying to diffuse the situation. I need a drink." Damon says to me. I chuckle at him.

"Alcoholic." I say.

"Vampire tolerance." He whispers in my ear then gently nibbles my neck.

"Unless we can go home right now, stop." I breathe. Damon chuckles and we head off so he can get a drink.

Once Damon has his much needed (according to him) bourbon we see Bonnie. She calls us over into a quiet room.

"So the 'device' spell we did took down Tyler and Mayor Lockwood." she says to us.

"It did. We need to know why." I say. Bonnie and Damon nod in agreement.

"We'll work it out." Bonnie says with a smile, and she leaves. Damon and I head out to the porch. I take Scarlett and sit her on the railing in my arms, and Damon wraps his arms around me from behind and rests his head on my shoulder, pulling faces at Scarlett to entertain her.

"I love the bond you have with her." I say.

"I love her. Thank you." he replies.

"Why are you thanking me?" I ask, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"For giving me a chance. For giving me a daughter. For loving me and for not freaking out at the whole supernatural mess I dragged you into." He replies.

"I saw the man you are behind your walls. A man who has been hurt over and over but just wanted someone to love him, someone to choose him for once. I should thank you, for giving me our beautiful daughter and for loving me." I reply. "Not to mention sooner or later I would have discovered I'm a Witch and been dragged into the supernatural mess regardless." He chuckles at me.

"I love you." he says simply.

"I love you." I reply. I see Elena, Jenna and Jeremy heading up the steps. I wave and they wave back. Jenna and Jeremy head into the house and Elena comes over to us.

"Hey, how are you both doing?" She asks.

"We're fine." I say.

"Great Elena. Walking on the sunshine, thanks for asking." Damon replies. I suppress a smile.

"Damon." Elena says.

"Elena" He replies, mimicking her tone.

"Don't be such a dick." She replies. "I want to make an effort since I'm with Stefan and you're marrying my sister." She replies.

"Why the about turn?" I ask.

"She thinks Katherine is going to send me off the deep end." Damon says in a moment of realisation.

"What has Not So Saint Stefan been saying now?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Errr...Just that Damon isn't stable when it comes to Katherine and with her trying to kiss him last night..." She says, trailing off. I glare at her.

"Firstly, you should have realised by now that what Stefan tells you is not who I am anymore." Damon snaps. "Secondly, Stefan promised Imogen he was going to stop this so we could work on restoring our relationship. Thirdly, Katherine is not going to send me off the deep end. Any feelings I had for her are long gone, the only emotion I feel towards her is hate. And finally, in the unlikely event I do start to go off the deep end, I just need to be near your sister, and she will pull me back."

"I would be more worried about Stefan now she's back." I say. Elena's face falls and she starts to walk away when Bonnie comes out looking distressed.

"Elena, Imogen, Damon!" She exclaims.

"Are you okay Bonnie?" Damon asks. He still takes his promise to Emily to protect her lineage seriously.

"I'm fine, but Katherine is here." She says.

"Oh good, I can kill the bitch." I say. Damon smirks at me.

"Come on, let's see if we can find her." Damon says.

After a while of searching we find Stefan, who had seen Katherine, and she had stabbed him. Elena was helping him clean up. Damon has gone to try and track her.

"I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and I let her get to me." Stefan says.

"Playing games again?" I ask. Stefan nods.

Damon reappears alone.

"I tried to track her but she's gone. Oooh, cover up, Fabio. We got a crazy doppelganger on the loose." He says to Stefan before turning to Elena. "You better watch out, looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy."

Elena shakes her head and walks away with Bonnie.

"That's not what's happening." Stefan replies. "She's going to try and play us against each other, you know that, right?"

"Brother, don't worry. The bond I have with Imogen is unbreakable. Katherine can try all she likes, she won't get to me." Damon replies.

"I hope you're right" He replies and heads in the direction Elena went.

"Please can we leave now?" I ask.

"Yes, let's get out of here." Damon replies. We head to the car and go home.

We spend the rest of the day just relaxing. Once Scarlett is in bed we're cuddling on the couch in the parlour when the doorbell rings. We look at each other before heading to answer it together. Damon opens the door to see Katherine standing there.

"Very brave of you to come here." Damon says as I give her a witchy migraine. Once I release her her from the spell she gasps.

"I wanted to say goodbye." She says.

"Good riddance." I say with a glare. Katherine gives me an amused look.

"Leaving so soon?" Damon asks.

"I know where I'm not wanted." she retorts.

"Don't pout. It's not attractive on a woman your age." Damon says. I laugh, I love his humour.

"Ouch." Katherine scoffs. Damon crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at her.

"I suggest you leave Katherine." I say.

She scoffs at me. "What, no goodbye kiss Damon?"

"Why don't we kill you instead? What are you doing here?" he replies.

"Nostalgia, curiosity, et cetera." she says.

"I'm better at the enigmatic one-liners, Katherine. What are you up to?" Damon says.

"I would like to know that too." I say.

"Trust me, when I'm up to something, you'll know it. Come on. Kiss me. Or kill me. Which will it be, Damon? We both know that you're only capable of one." Katherine says.

"I know it was you that tried to kiss me last night. The same thing I said last night when I thought you were Elena applies. Imogen is it for me. I will never look at another woman in that way ever again. There will never be another love in my life. So kill it is." He replies.

"Ahh yes, the witchy soulmate. I've heard about you." Katherine says. I give her another migraine. She growls in pain.

"Get lost Katherine. Whatever game you're trying to play isn't going to work with us." I say, stopping the spell.

"You know, I like you." She says to me. I raise an eyebrow. "You've got fire."

"I will protect those I care about." I say with a glare.

"I can see that. You're a special girl, Imogen." She says before disappearing.

We close the door and head back inside to the couch.

"Well that was... interesting." Damon says.

"I know, I want to hate her, but something tells me life has made her the way she is." I reply.

"You have some kind of sixth sense, don't you?" he replies. I nod in response.

"I think I must do. I thought with you it was because we're soulmates, but I could sense the Katherine behind her walls too, so maybe it's something to do with being a Jacob's witch." I reply.

"Perhaps your grimoires might have more information." He replies.

"They might, I've not read through all of them yet." I reply, stifling a yawn.

"Come on, I think it's time we went to bed." he says with a chuckle. He picks me up bridle style and vamps us to his room.

Once we're ready for bed we climb in and fall asleep.


	25. And You Learn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in the update. We had my sister in laws funeral and I simply wasn't in the mood to write.

**February 27th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: You Learn; Takida**

_And you learn_

_Like a shadow flows in the rain_

_Like a foreign flame in the dark_

_Showing you the way_

_And you learn_

_What we feel now isn't pain_

_Just a scent of it is enough_

_Blinding me with grace_

**Imogen's POV**

It's Saturday. Once upon a time this would have meant I could sleep the morning away. Unfortunately I have a 9 month old daughter who didn't get the memo. I wake up to her babbling on the monitor. I groan and nuzzle my nose into Damon's neck.

"I'll go get her." He says with a chuckle, giving me a kiss and climbing out of bed. When he comes back I feed her and she falls back to sleep, so we go back to sleep too.

We wake up a couple of hours later to Damon's phone ringing. Scarlett is still asleep, she can sleep through anything.

"Whoever that is tell them to go away." I grumble.

"It's Carol Lockwood." he says, checking the caller ID.

He's on the phone a couple of minutes then he comes back to bed.

"What did she want?" I ask.

"She wants me to go over there so we can talk." He tells me.

"Just you?" I ask.

"I think so, she didn't say it was a council meeting." He replies.

"Hmmm." I say in irritation.

"What's the matter?" Damon asks.

"She flirts with you and I don't like it." I grumble.

"You know I just ignore her, right." he says. I nod. He vamps around the bed and pulls me up against him, pressing his body against mine.

"You know you're the only girl for me." He says, his lips brushing against mine. "But I have to admit you being jealous is a big turn on." He presses his hips tighter against me and I can feel his erection pressed up against my lower stomach.

Scarlett starts to wake up at that moment. Damon looks to the bed. "We'll finish this later." he says and kisses me passionately.

We get dressed and grab breakfast. Damon heads to the Lockwood's and I head to the grocery store. One of the joys of living with 3 Vampires, I get to do the grocery shopping as they don't need human food.

I arrive home and Stefan helps me unload the car. I sit Scarlett in her high chair to play whilst I put the groceries away. Damon comes in when I've pretty much finished. He kisses Scarlett on the head and comes over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me softly.

"I had an interesting meeting with Carol." He says.

"Oh? It was just the two of you?" I reply. He nods.

"Carol is going to be interim Mayor until the next elections, and she's asked me to lead the Founder's Council." He tells me.

"If only she knew she was asking a Vampire to lead a council of Vampire hunters." I chuckle.

"I know. But it's a good thing as I can make sure they don't find out about Stefan, Anna and I, plus being a Vampire I can trace any rogue ones easier." he says with a smirk.

"Very true." I reply and kiss him.

"I also heard Tyler talking to his Uncle Mason." He says.

"I used to have a crush on him when I was a kid." I laugh. His expression darkens. "Now who's the jealous one?"

"I don't like the thought of you fancying another man." He grumbles.

"It was a long time ago, I was just a kid. You know there's only one man for me." I say, kissing him. "And you're not the only one who thinks jealousy is a turn on." I say with a wink. He growls in response.

"Just you wait until later" He says. "Anyway, the reason I mentioned them is that Mason was asking Tyler questions about his anger and aggression. I definitely think there's more to that family."

"It seems like it." I say.

* * *

We're in the parlour. Scarlett is taking a nap and I'm sat on the sofa reading one of my grimoires. Damon is pouring some blood into a glass for himself when Stefan comes in.

"Would you care for one?" Damon asks Stefan.

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry, just ate." Stefan replies.

"Aren't you worried that one day all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back? I mean, surely they talk." Damon says, moving to lean on the back of a chair. I burst out laughing, and he smirks at me.

"I'm just happy that's a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner." Stefan replies.

"You do know he's been on blood bags for months, right?" I say. Stefan just looks at me. I roll my eyes.

"I like this. You, walking on eggs shells around me because you think I'm gonna explode. Very suspenseful. Is Elena worried too? I bet I'm your every conversation." Damon replies. I laugh again. I know Damon isn't going to explode over Katherine and I find the fact that Stefan and Elena think that amusing.

"Have you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asks.

"Not since she appeared at the door last night." I say.

"I think the Lockwoods have a family secret because the spell affected them but vervain didn't so they're not vampires, they're something else." Damon tells Stefan.

"Is this your new obsession?" Stefan asks.

"Oh come on Stefan. You know my only obsession is Imogen. If you'd rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant upon our town. Fine, I'll drop it." Damon says with a raised eyebrow.

"We haven't seen the last of Katherine, you do know that right? We have no idea what she's up to." Stefan says.

"Sure we do. She came back to profess her undying eternal love for you so I'm gonna let you deal with her because I have more important things to do like explode. Cheers!" Damon says, then sits on the sofa and moves my legs so they're in his lap. Stefan sighs and leaves.

"They really are idiots. They need to find something else to focus on than you." I say. Damon hums in response.

"Are we going to the carnival later?" I ask.

"If you want to." He replies.

* * *

We're at the carnival with Scarlett. We're wandering around when we see Jeremy buying popcorn.

"Hey Jer." I say.

"Hey" He replies then turns to Damon. "Aren't you a little old for a high school carnival?" he asks with a laugh.

"About 150 years too old." he replies, also laughing. He steals some of Jeremy's popcorn. We chat for a while longer then we head to the Ferris wheel whilst Jeremy goes to find his friends.

We ride the Ferris wheel with Scarlett and she loves it. After we're done we go inside the school and come across some people arm wrestling. One of them is Tyler Lockwood, which immediately catches Damon's interest. We stand watching as Tyler beats 3 people in a row. Stefan joins us shortly after.

"You're obsessing." Stefan says.

"No one is obsessing. We need to work out what's going on with them." I say.

"He's very strong." Damon says.

"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he's strong. You're reaching." Stefan says.

"Here comes Mason." I say, as he approaches saying that he can take Tyler. We watch as he beats Tyler easily.

"Okay, he's the champ, who wants to go next?" Tyler says.

"Stefan wants to go." Damon volunteers. Stefan looks at him.

"Yeah, sure, I'll give it a shot." Stefan says.

"Go Stefan!" I call out as Scarlett claps her hands.

"Get him Stef!" Damon calls, smirking.

The bell rings and the arm wrestle starts. Mason beats Stefan, he comes back over to us.

"You didn't put in any effort at all." Damon says.

"Yeah, actually I did." Stefan replies.

"Really?" I ask. Stefan nods.

Damon looks surprised. "Come with me."

We move out into the hallway where Mason and Tyler won't be able to hear us.

"Is he...?" Damon starts to ask.

"No, no, it wasn't that kind of strength but it was more than human, if that makes any sense." Stefan replies.

"So not Vampires, but what else is there?" I ask.

"What is up with that family?" Damon asks.

"Ooh, maybe they're, um, ninja turtles!" Stefan says.

"Look at Stefan trying to be funny." I say.

"He's not funny." Damon scoffs.

"Or no, zombies, werewolves." Stefan says.

"And he has no comedic timing at all." Damon says, looking up the corridor where a man is fixing something.

"Damon..." I say in a warning tone, knowing he's going to do something I'm not going to like.

"What? What are you up to?" Stefan asks.

"This is reality and there's no such thing as werewolves or...combat turtles." Damon says, walking over to the man.

"Damon, don't." I say.

"I said ninja turtles, actually." Stefan says as we follow him.

"It will be fine Imz." Damon says to me. I glare at the back of his head.

"Hey you!" He says to the man.

"I have a name." he replies.

"Yeah I don't care." Damon says. "I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood." Damon compels him.

"You better not get him killed." I say angrily.

"Damon, don't do this." Stefan says.

"It's just an experiment. Get him mad, don't back down no matter what he does, okay?" Damon carries on compelling the man.

"I won't back down." he replies in a monotone voice.

"I know you won't." Damon replies and let's him go.

"Damon, you better make sure he doesn't get killed and if he gets hurt heal him and compel him to forget." I growl angrily. This is the first time I've ever been truly angry with him. I can see from the look on his face, and I can feel through our bond that he's sorry.

"You do realise someone is going to get hurt right?" Stefan says.

"No, someone is going to get mad, as in rage." He says. "And I will make sure he doesn't get hurt."

"What's that going to accomplish?" Stefan asks. I'm still glaring at Damon and I see sadness cross his face.

"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes; maybe it's the ambiguous, supernatural mystery uncle." Damon says.

"I'm going to find Elena." I say and storm off with Scarlett.

"Imz! Imogen!" I hear Damon call after me. I ignore him.

* * *

A while later I'm talking to Elena when Damon approaches us.

"Imogen, Elena, I need you both to come with me."

"I'm not interested, I'm still mad with you." I say, glaring at him. Elena raises her eyebrows at me.

"Yeah, I need you both to come with me right now." he says seriously. I can tell it's important so I nod. He takes Scarlett from me and leads us to a classroom.

"What happened with that man and Tyler?" I ask as we enter the classroom.

"He's fine, I'll fill you in later. We have a more pressing problem." He replies.

"What now?" I groan.

"Caroline is a Vampire." He tells us. "Katherine killed her and sent us a message - 'Game On'."

"How did this happen?" Stefan asks. Elena looks wide eyed.

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals..." Damon says.

"But why?" Elena asks.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty, little slut." Damon says.

"And she said 'game on'? I mean, what does that even mean?" Stefan asks.

"It means she's playing dirty. She wants us to know." Damon replies.

"But why Caroline?" Elena asks.

"I don't know." Damon replies.

"She must have known you gave her your blood. What if Katherine's been lurking around the house and heard us talking?" I say.

"It's a possibility." Damon says.

"Time for some silencing spells around the house." I say. Damon nods.

"That's a good idea." He says.

"Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her." Stefan says.

"She found me in an empty corridor, and gave me the message. She asked if I knew what was happening so I explained a little but then Matt appeared and she got spooked and ran." Damon says.

"We have to find her." I say.

"And let's hope she doesn't turn into another Vicki Donovan." Damon says.

We go looking for Caroline, splitting up. Elena and Stefan go off together and I'm with Damon. We see Jeremy along the way and tell him what's happening and he takes Scarlett whilst we look for her. Suddenly Damon stops dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I smell blood." He replies then grabs my hand, leading me in the direction of the smell. Once he says about the smell I find I can smell it too. Surely I shouldn't be able to. I don't have much time to think about that as we find Caroline with a dead carnival worker. She has blood all over her face and is crying. She looks up at us.

"He's dead. I killed him. What's wrong with me?" She cries.

"Hey, hey it's okay. I can help you." Damon says.

"It's the bloodlust. It got the better of you, but Damon can teach you to control it. I'm sure Stefan will help too." I say.

"You can?" she asks hopefully.

"Of course." Damon replies with a small smile. Caroline visibly relaxes. Stefan and Elena arrive.

"She needs help. Damon will help her, you okay to help her too?" I say to Stefan.

"Of course." he replies.

Bonnie arrives and realises what has happened.

"Caroline?" She gasps.

"Bonnie." Caroline replies sadly.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Stefan says to Caroline, leading her towards the bathroom with Elena.

"Who did this to her?" Bonnie asks.

"Katherine posed as Elena and visited her in the hospital last night. She still had Damon's blood in her system after he healed her." I say.

"She needs to die." Bonnie growls, referring to Katherine. Damon and I both nod.

"We're going to have to tell her everything else." I say. They both nod at me.

"She'll need a daylight ring as well." Damon said. Bonnie nods.

"I've seen the spell in Emily's grimoire. I can make her a ring." Bonnie says.

"Can I get that spell?" I ask. Bonnie nods.

"I have a body to take care of. I'll see you at home?" Damon asks. I nod and go to find Jeremy with Bonnie. I'm still mad at him, but less so after he promised to help Caroline and is clearing up after her. I sigh.

Once I find Jeremy I explain what happened and take Scarlett home. I change her and I'm feeding her when Damon comes in.

"Hey." He says. I just raise an eyebrow at him. "You're still mad at me aren't you?"

"Yep." I reply. He sighs. "We'll talk about it once she's in bed." I say, nodding my head at a nearly sleeping Scarlett. He nods.

Once Scarlett has finished feeding Damon takes her from me and settles her in her crib. We go to our room and I sit on the bed.

"Imz..." He starts but I interrupt him.

"I need to do the silencing spells, especially if we're going to have to explain everything to Caroline." I say. He sighs but nods at me.

I wander round the house muttering the spell until the whole house is done, so that no one who is outside will be able to hear anything from inside. Once I'm happy it's done I head back to our room where Damon is drinking a glass of bourbon staring at the fire he must have started whilst I was doing the spell. I sit on the bed.

"I'm sorry." He says.

"Why would you do that? Does human life mean that little to you?" I ask.

"I was never going to let him get hurt. I just needed prove that there was something supernatural about Mason." he says. I sigh.

"I'm sure you could have found another way. "I say.

"Perhaps, but I'm impulsive and reckless. It's who I am, who I've always been, even as a human." He says.

"So what happened?" I ask.

"Well as I asked he riled Tyler up and he couldn't help himself. Mason came along and stopped him. He was jumping over the cars and he is definitely supernatural." He tells me.

"And the man?" I ask.

"Healed, compelled and sent on his way." He replies. I nod. Damon walks over to the bed, putting his glass on the table.

"Are we good? I don't like you being mad with me. This is the first time we've ever fallen out and I hated it." He says.

I look into his eyes and see the sadness and remorse, and I can feel it too.

"Yeah, we're good." I say. He smiles and pulls me up from the bed into a hug.

"I love you." He says.

"I love you too." I say.

"Stefan, Caroline and Elena just arrived. We need to go and explain everything to her." He says. I nod and we head downstairs.

"Hi Caroline." I say at the door.

"Hi." She says.

"Come in Caroline." I say, and she is able to enter the house. We head into the parlour and takes seats.

"We have some things to explain to you. About what you are, and other supernatural things. We need you to promise not to repeat anything we tell you about Scarlett." I say. She nods.

"I've already placed silencing spells over the whole house. No one outside will be able to hear anything." I say.

We explain everything to her, including how we think that the Lockwood's are also some kind of supernatural but we don't know what yet.

"Wow, so much to take in." She says. " I promise to protect Scarlett."

"Thank you." I reply.

We chat for a while longer before Stefan takes Caroline home, after Damon gave her a couple of blood bags to feed on and telling her that he will teach her to live feed without hurting anyone soon. She declined Stefan's offer of feeding on animals.

Once Damon and I are upstairs in bed I rest my head on his chest and he wraps his arms around me, kissing the top of my head.

"Our lives are never going to be simple are they?" I ask.

"No, it doesn't seem that way." He replies. I sigh.

Damon tilts my head up and kisses me passionately. We make love before falling asleep quickly, both wondering what the Lockwood's are and what else could possibly be coming our way.


	26. If The Suspense Doesn't Kill You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your hits and kudos.

**February 28th 2010, Mystic Fall, Virginia**

**Song: Parasite Eve; Bring Me The Horizon**

_It's the Parasite Eve_

_Got a feeling in your stomach 'cause you know that it's coming for ya_

_Leave your flowers and grieve_

_Don't forget what they told ya, eh-eh_

_When we forget the infection_

_Will we remember the lesson?_

_If the suspense doesn't kill you_

_Something else will_

**Damon's POV**

I wake the next morning with Imogen practically laid on top of me. I smile and kiss her head whilst tracing abstract patterns on her back.

Yesterday was the first time we've argued and I really didn't like it. It's never bothered me when I've argued with anyone before, I mean Stefan and I fall out all the time, but with Imogen it was completely different. I was upset that I'd upset her, and worried that it was going to be the end of us. At least we're good again. I'm going to have to try and keep my reckless side in check, at least if it puts people in danger. I really don't want to argue with her again.

I'm a little worried about Katherine being in town and I really need to find out what is going on with the Lockwood's. I won't have anyone putting my fiancée or Daughter in danger. I just hope Blondie manages to keep herself in check. Imogen would really fall out with me if I had to kill her.

I sigh happily. I still can't fully believe that this beautiful girl loves me and in a few months we'll be married. I kiss her head again and start to drift off to sleep when the bedroom door opens and Stefan and Elena walk in. Luckily the sheets are covering our naked bodies.

"What the hell? Have you not heard of knocking?" I growl at them. They stop when they see Imogen laid on top of me. She's woken up and is grumbling with her head buried in my neck.

"Errr... sorry." Elena says, blushing. I roll my eyes. Imogen lifts her head slightly and glares at them both.

"Some of us were still sleeping." she grumbles at them.

"We're sorry but we have an idea." Stefan says.

"Well how about you wait until we're dressed." Imogen growls.

"You mean you're... Oh my God." Elena says, blushing furiously.

"This is our room, our bed, and we're engaged. Do you think we sleep in snow suits?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. Imogen chuckles at me.

"We'll be downstairs." Stefan says, leading Elena out of the room.

"Finally, some sense." Imogen says. She moves so she is straddling me and leans down to kiss me. I'm already hard and her new position means my erection is now teasing her core.

"Hmmm" I hum as I kiss her back. "Are we going to make them wait a while?"

"Absolutely. Scarlett is still asleep so let's take advantage." She replies before rocking her hips so I enter her.

"It doesn't matter how many times we do this, it still feels incredible." I growl as I move my hips in time with hers. She hums in agreement and I kiss down her jaw and her neck. She moans in response and sits up, moving her hips faster as she chases her release. I can tell she's close and I know I am too, so I slip a hand down to rub circles on her clit knowing it will tip her over the edge. Her walls clench around me as she shouts my name which tips me over the edge too. She collapses back on top of me and I wrap my arms around her, kissing her lazily.

"I fucking love you." I tell her.

"I love you too." she replies.

We lie there for a few minutes before we jump in the shower together, then we get dressed just as Scarlett wakes up. Imogen feeds her and I get her dressed before we head downstairs to see what Stefan and Elena want.

"Finally." Elena mutters.

"Sorry, we were, uhhh... busy." Imogen says, plopping down on the couch opposite the pair.

"I don't want to know about your sex life." Elena grumbles.

"Are you sure? I mean you came in our room without knocking, whilst we were naked." Imogen says cheerfully. Elena glares in response. I chuckle and sit down next to my girl with Scarlett playing with a toy in my lap.

"So what was so important you had to wake us up before the baby on a Sunday morning?" I ask.

"Well Ric said Isobel did a lot of research into the supernatural in Mystic Falls." Elena says.

"And we thought we could ask him if we could look through her research, see if we can figure out what the Lockwood's are." Stefan continues.

"That's actually a good idea." I reply.

"I'll call Ric and get him to come over." Elena says.

"I'll get breakfast made." Imogen says.

"I'll help." I say with a wink. Imogen chuckles and we head into the kitchen with Scarlett.

* * *

A while later we've had breakfast and are back in the parlour. We've been joined by Jeremy and Anna who are playing with Scarlett on one couch. Stefan and Elena are sat on the other and Imogen is leaning against my chest with my arms around her as I lean back against the wall. We are waiting for Ric to arrive. The doorbell rings and I go to answer it. I step aside so Ric can come in.

"Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?" I ask. He shakes his head no.

"Elena mentioned you needed my help." He says as he follows me back into the parlour. He takes a seat next to Elena and I sit in the chair. Imogen comes and sits in my lap and I rest my chin on her shoulder with my arms around her waist.

"Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan says.

"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" Ric says.

"Well, you wouldn't. But your dead, not-dead vampire wife might." I say.

"Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together." Elena says.

"Elena said you told her that Isobel did a lot of research on Mystic Falls." Imogen says.

"Isobel's research about Mystic Falls is rooted in folklores and legends, at the time I thought much of which was fiction." Ric says.

"Like that amazing vampire story." I say with my eyebrows raised.

"Aside from vampires, what else?" Elena asks.

"The lycanthrope." Ric replies.

"The lycanthrope?" Jeremy asks.

"He means werewolves." Anna pipes up.

"No way, impossible, way too Lon Chaney." I say.

"Is it?" Stefan asks.

"I've been on this planet one hundred and seventy years, never come across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?" I say.

"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Ric asks.

"Because vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founders' Day but the spell did, and it affected his son Tyler." I say. "Plus Mason smells different."

"Thinking about it George Lockwood didn't smell quite like a human in 1864."Anna says. I raise my eyebrows. George was my friend back then.

"At the school carnival Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival's workers. It suggests some sort of a supernatural entity." Stefan says.

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure it out what it is." Elena says.

"Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there. She's technically still missing." Ric says.

"So can we get access to it?" I ask. "We need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolf man thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. I need to protect Imogen and Scarlett and I can't do that unless I know what I'm up against."

"We." Stefan says. "What we're up against."

"I agree, it's we."Anna says. Everyone else nods. It's good to know that people, especially my brother, are willing to help me protect my girls.

"Look, if Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk is Lon Chaney junior, it means Bella Lugosi, meaning us Vampires, are totally screwed." I say.

"Not necessarily." Imogen says. I raise my eyebrows. "I've known Mason for years. I don't think he would hurt us."

"We'll see. If he's a threat I'm killing him." I say. Imogen rolls her eyes.

"So I can make a call and arrange access to Isobel's research. Who is coming?" Ric says.

"She was my Mom." Elena says.

"And I need to know what we're dealing with." I say.

"And no doubt that means Imogen is coming too." Ric asks.

"Of course." Imogen says, smiling.

"We'll look after Scarlett." Jeremy says.

"Are you sure? We can take her with us." Imogen says.

"We're sure." Anna says with a smile.

"I'll spend the day with Caroline. Bonnie is going over to make her a daylight ring soon so I can help her stay in control whilst being normal." Stefan says.

"Now that's agreed, let's get going." Ric says.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

The drive takes just over 2 hours. Ric is driving, Damon is in the passenger seat and Elena and I are in the back.

The drive is mostly quiet, I'm reading through one of my grimoires. Elena writes in her journal for a while and just looks out of the window for the rest of the journey.

We arrive and Ric leads us into a building. "So Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore." He tells us.

We arrive at an office where a girl is looking through a filing cabinet.

"Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier." Ric says

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, comparative folklore." She says, giving Elena and Damon strange looks. "Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys."

"These are my friends Elena, Imogen and Damon. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition." Ric says to her

"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad student. She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went into folklore. Uh, I have to ask - has there been any news?" She says as she gets the keys.

"No, I'm afraid not." Ric replies.

"It's this way." Vanessa says, leading us to an office. She opens the door and we walk in. "I'll grab the light, feel free to look around. It's fascinating isn't it?" She says before leaving. We start looking through the room.

"Where'd she go?" Damon asks, frowning. As he asks Vanessa reappears with a crossbow and shoots at Elena. Before I can think of a spell Damon vamps over and takes the arrow in the back, falling to the floor.

"Damon!" I exclaim as Ric restrains Vanessa. I rush over to his side and crouch down, brushing his hair out of his face. I help him to stand up.

"You're going to have to pull it out Imogen." Damon says. I hesitate, not wanting to hurt him anymore than he already is. He notices my hesitation. "Pull it out. I can't reach it Imz. Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts."

I remember a pain relief spell and mutter it. I see Damon visibly relax and I pull the arrow out.

"That bitch is dead." He says.

"Damon." I say. He looks at me and wraps his arms around me, nuzzling my neck with his nose. I feel him relax in my arms.

"Okay. She's not dead." He says as he pulls away. I see Elena also relax. We walk out of the office to where Ric is pushing Vanessa back into a chair.

"Please! I freaked out okay? Alright, you would have done the same thing, it's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864. Okay? I read Isobel's research." She says.

"Well, then you should know just how possible this is." Ric replies.

"I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter and a descendant of Katherine Pierce. This is my sister, Imogen Gilbert, and this is Damon Salvatore, who you just shot." Elena says.

"I'd be extra nice to me right now." Damon says.

"And me. That's my sister you aimed a crossbow at and my fiancé you shot." I say.

"Look, we need your help okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls." Elena says.

Vanessa leads us back into the office. She finds a box that she shows to Elena, which is about Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in 1864.

"Do you know if Isobel had any research on Jacob's witches?" I ask.

"The name rings a bell. Give me a few minutes." She replies.

We keep on looking when I see Damon pick a book with 'Petrova' on the spine. He gives me one of his panty dropping smirks.

_'What do you know?'_ I ask silently.

_'Katherine's real name wasn't Katherine Pierce. It was Katerina Petrova'_ he replies.

_'How do you know?'_ I ask.

_'I snooped, way back when. Saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Going to have some fun with your sister.'_

_'Try not to piss her off too much.'_ I reply.

Vanessa comes over and hands me a book. I look at the title and see it is about Jacob's witches.

"This is all there is. You can keep it." She tells me, going back over to help Ric.

"Hey guys, check this out." Ric calls out a few minutes later.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser-known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin-walkers to the Maréchal de Retz." Vanessa says, showing us a book. "Tonartsliitsii Metslii, which roughly translates into the 'curse of the sun and the moon'."

"It's Native American." Ric says.

"Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf." Vanessa explains.

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asks.

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse." Vanessa replies. "Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires."

"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it." Damon says.

"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction." Vanessa replies.

"Why would they do that?" Elena asks.

"Isn't it obvious?" I ask her.

"To protect themselves. Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires." Vanessa says.

The four of us look at each other with concern.

"Oh..." Damon says.

"I'll call Stefan and warn him." Elena says and pulls out her phone. Damon wraps his arms around me and nuzzles my neck.

_'You're worried aren't you?'_ I think to him.

_'Yes, but I don't want everyone else to know, so I'm just going to stay like this because it helps.'_ He says.

_'I love you.'_

_'I love you too.'_ He replies.

Elena ends the call and starts asking Vanessa what she knows about doppelgangers. Damon and I carry on cuddling and Ric looks at us.

"Get a room." He says.

"We're just cuddling." I say, rolling my eyes and we stay as we are for a few minutes longer.

Elena and I head to the car whilst Damon and Ric make sure Vanessa won't tell anyone about us being here.

"I wish there had been more information about why I look like Katherine." Elena says.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." I say.

"It's a head scratcher isn't it?" Damon asks coming up behind us. Elena scowls at him. "You didn't dig deep enough." He says, handing her the Petrova book.

" 'Petrova'. I saw this on a shelf." Elena says.

"Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name. Katerina Petrova, to be exact." Damon tells her.

"How did you know that?" Elena asks.

"Back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop too, you know. Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself." he replies. He unlocks the car and we get in, waiting for Ric.

The ride home is quiet. Ric drops Damon and I at home before heading to the Gilbert house with Elena. We enter the Parlour and find Anna and Jeremy asleep on the couch. We go upstairs and Scarlett is asleep in her crib, so we head to our room.

"I think Scarlett tired them out." I chuckle.

"No doubt." He replies, as there is a knock at the door. Damon goes over and opens it revealing Stefan.

"Oh look who's learned how to knock." Damon says sarcastically. I chuckle.

Stefan comes in and explains how he and Caroline nearly got attacked by a wolf he thinks was Mason. After he leaves we climb into bed and Damon wraps me in his arms. Tomorrow I need to read the book Vanessa gave me and we need to work out if Mason is really a threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Imogen has a book about Jacob's witches! Is there any powers or abilities you think she should have other than what we already found out from when she visited Bree? Send me a PM or leave a review with your thoughts.


	27. You Might Be Bulletproof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when you start writing a chapter and it takes on a mind of it's own? That happened here. I hadn't planned for what we find out in this Chapter, it just happened. I think it works though?
> 
> Thanks for your comments. I love getting feedback (even constructive criticism - if I don't know it's broke I can't fix it) so please leave me a comment!
> 
> I don't own anything TVD related, it appears they own me though!

**March 4th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Get Up; Shinedown**

_If you were ever in doubt_

_Don't sell yourself short, you might be bulletproof_

_Hard to move mountains when you're paralysed_

_But you gotta try_

_So, I'm calling out..._

**Imogen's POV**

It's been a few days since the trip to Duke. I read through the book Vanessa gave me, which was informative. It confirmed everything Bree told me plus I found out that I'm also a psychic which explains why I can see what people are really like behind any façade they put on. That is how I could see who the real Damon is when we first met and how I could tell that it is life that has made Katherine the way she is. I can also siphon magic, although unlike a siphon witch I do have my own magic.

Damon got Ric to convince Jenna to have a BBQ and invite Mason since they went to school together. I don't know what he has planned but I do know I'll be keeping a close eye on him. We may be soulmates but he can be impulsive and reckless and one of these days he's going to get himself in serious trouble.

I'm sat in the car outside the Grill waiting for Damon. He has gone in to collect a peach cobbler for the BBQ. Scarlett is in the back seat babbling away. I look over my shoulder at her and take note of how big she's getting. We're going to have to get her a new car seat soon.

Damon comes out of the Grill and gets back in the car, handing me the pie as he does.

"You ready to prove Mason is a werewolf?" He asks.

"Yes, but don't do anything stupid please." I say. He sighs and looks at me.

"I'll try not to." He says, starting the car and heading to the Gilbert house.

We walk in and head to the kitchen where everyone seems to be.

"Hey." Damon says.

"Hey you three." Jenna says with a smile. She wasn't happy when she thought Damon had kissed Elena on Founder's Day, but once we explained it was Katherine and she kissed him she understood.

"We were just doing shots. Let me give you a shot glass, buddy." Ric says, grabbing Damon a shot glass. Damon gives the pie to Jenna who takes it from him and puts it on the counter.

"We haven't met. Mason Lockwood." Mason says, offering Damon his hand.

"Oh sure. Damon Salvatore."

"I know. I've heard great things about you." Mason replies with a smile.

"Really? That's weird, 'cause I'm a dick!" Damon replies. I laugh at him.

"That's what he wants everyone to think of him." I say. Mason pours the shots and I head upstairs to settle Scarlett for a nap in my old room as she's getting grumpy.

Once I get downstairs the food is ready so I head to get some. I chat to Caroline and my sister. Caroline is doing well with being a Vampire which doesn't surprise me. She liked to be in control of things as a human which is helping her with controlling her cravings.

After we've eaten we go inside to play Pictionary. Damon's idea, which I'm sure is to try and get to Mason.

It's Damon's turn and he's drawn a wolf in a tutu.

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna calls out.

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Caroline pipes up.

"No, no." Damon says.

"A dog! Hound-dog!" Jenna says excitedly.

" 'Dances with Wolves' " Mason says in a slightly bored voice.

"Mason wins...again." Damon says.

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna asks.

I shake my head slightly and go to join Elena in the kitchen. We tidy up and Elena gets the pie out so we can have dessert. Damon follows me a couple of minutes later.

"Aunt Jenna is getting tipsy." he says, kissing my temple before stepping behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I'm not surprised. You keep plying her with alcohol." I say.

"How is operation Lockwood?" Elena asks.

"He's my new BFF." Damon replies as he rests his chin on my shoulder.

"There you are. Isn't this fun?" Jenna says as she comes into the kitchen.

"Yes, thank you so much for inviting us." Damon replies. Jenna smiles in response.

Elena hands Jenna a knife from the silver set on the side. Damon sees and goes over to look.

"Oooh these are fancy." Damon says.

"Thanks. My mother's silver set." Jenna replies, cutting the pie. He takes a a knife from the drawer and looks at me.

_'Don't even think about it Damon.'_ I think to him.

_'What? I'm just going to see if he really is a werewolf.'_ he replies.

_'Not by stabbing him with a knife you're not. There are other ways.'_ I reply. He pouts but puts the knife back.

I hear Scarlett on the baby monitor so I head upstairs to get her. When I come back down Elena and Caroline are leaving because Stefan hasn't shown up and he's not answering his phone to her. I head into the kitchen where Damon, Mason, Ric and Jenna are sitting down to eat the pie.

"Mason, why don't you start us off?" Damon says.

"Sure." He replies. He looks at the silver knife and turns the pie around, taking a slice with his hands. We all exchange glances.

"I apologize, I'm an animal." Mason says with a smirk.

"So Mason, you and Jenna never dated?" Ric asks.

"She was always lost in Logan Fell land." Mason replies.

"He was a jerk." I say.

"My first mistake. Mason was a catch; he had girls lining up." Jenna says.

"Really? I always pegged you for a lone wolf." Damon says.

_'Damon.'_ I think with a warning tone. He pouts at me.

"I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were. How about a toast? To new friends." Mason says, holding up his beer. We all toast.

_'He knows what you are.'_ I think. He gives me a small nod.

Once dessert is finished Mason, Jenna and Ric head into the living room. I pop Scarlett in her high chair and Damon and I are clearing up.

"Do you think he's a wolf then?" Damon asks me quietly.

"I do, but I don't think he's any danger to us." I say.

"He nearly killed Stefan." Damon replies.

"I'm sure that was a mistake." I reply. Just then Mason comes back in.

"Jenna just brought out 'Guitar Hero'. Might be time to mutiny." He says.

"Well, I happen to like 'Guitar Hero'. So you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree." Damon replies.

"Damon." I say in a warning tone.

"Okay. Enough with the innuendos, you win, you're hilarious." Mason says.

"No, he's really not." I say.

"Thank you." Damon says.

"Come on, man. You don't think I know what this barbecue is about?" Mason says.

"How do you know about me? Your brother was completely clueless." Damon says.

"I'm not your enemy, Damon." Mason replies.

"Do you know what I am?" I ask.

"You smell a little like a Vampire, and so does Scarlett." He replies. I look at him shocked. "It's weird. It's not as strong as a normal Vampire, but you both definitely have the Vampire scent."

"What... how..." I stammer.

"You tried to kill my brother." Damon states, trying to move the conversation away from Scarlett and I. I'm in shock. I understand how Scarlett could have a Vampire smell, but me?

"That was a mistake." Mason says.

"Really?" Damon says.

"There was confusion; I couldn't chain myself up in time. I have no control once I shift." Mason explains.

"What, no obedience school?" Damon retorts.

"I'm serious. Let's not spark some age-old feud that doesn't apply to us."

"He's telling the truth Damon." I say.

"You expect me to believe that you are in Mystic Falls planting peach trees?" Damon asks. He needs to get over his trust issues.

"I lost my brother, my nephew lost his father. I'm here for my family. Let's be above this." Mason says, offering Damon his hand. Damon looks at him.

"We can trust him. I can sense we can." I say. Damon nods and shakes his hand.

"What you said about Scarlett and I and how we smell..." I say.

"It's weird. I've never come across a human that smelt a little like a Vampire before." Mason says.

"We can explain part of it at least, but we need your assurance that what we tell you does not get repeated." I say. Mason nods.

"Scarlett is my daughter." Damon says.

"How? Vampires can't have kids." Mason says confused.

"We're soulmates, we have a rare bond which allowed us to have a child together. Scarlett is a hybrid, part Vampire, part witch." I explain.

"Witch?" Mason asks.

"Yes. I'm a witch. A witch and Vampire had a baby, ergo hybrid." I say, gesturing to Scarlett.

"Wow." Mason says.

"I don't get why Imogen smells of Vampire though." Damon says.

"Could it be because we share blood daily?" I ask.

"I don't think so. Vampire blood smells different to an actual Vampire, and you smell of Vampire, not Vampire blood." He says.

"How can that be?" I ask.

"The same reason Scarlett smells like a Vampire. You must be a hybrid too Imz." Damon says.

"I guess it's possible. No one except my Mom knew who my Dad was, and she refused to tell anyone." I say.

"The supernatural world is much more complicated than I thought." Mason replies.

"Tell me about it. Six months ago I had no clue about any of it. Then I found out I have a soulmate who is a Vampire, our daughter is a hybrid, I thought I was a witch, but now it seems I'm also a hybrid. Werewolves actually exist and my sister is a doppelganger. Whatever next?" I say. Damon wraps his arms around me.

"Whatever it is, we'll face it together." he says. I nod.

"Thank you for trusting me. I really didn't mean to go after Stefan. I was chaining myself up in the old Lockwood cellar when Tyler showed up with a girl, I had to get out quickly and I shifted before I could find somewhere else. It won't happen again." Mason says.

"I hope not, because he will kill you if anything happens to me, Scarlett or his brother, or anyone I care about." I say. Damon just nods.

"Understandable." Mason replies.

Ric and Jenna come through then and join us. We explain that we think I must be a hybrid and what we've explained to Mason.

A while later Scarlett is getting grumpy so we decide it's time to leave. Mason asks if anyone wants to join him at the Grill for a drink but we all decline except for Damon. He gets Scarlett in the car and I climb in the passenger seat. Damon gets in the drivers seat and he drops me at home before heading to the Grill. As I walk in the house I see Elena and Stefan leaving. They explain how Katherine turned up this morning and got in Stefan's head to give him a dream this morning through his open window, and as a result he spent the day with her chained up in one of the outbuildings. They said they were heading to the Grill to get some food and leave.

I head upstairs and get Scarlett changed before feeding her and putting her in her crib for the night. I then go and change for bed myself and I'm laid in bed reading when Damon comes home.

"Hey." He says as he comes in the room. He comes over and kisses me before getting ready for bed.

"Hey. You do anything silly?" I ask.

"Nah, we had a couple drinks and a game of pool and then I came home. I did see our siblings though. They had a fight I'm pretty sure was fake." He replies. He climbs into bed and tucks an arm behind his head.

"I saw them before they left. Stefan spent the day with Katherine chained up in one of the outbuildings." I tell him.

"Interesting." He replies.

"Damon, do you really think I could be a hybrid?" I ask.

"It would make sense." He replies.

"But the book Bree gave us said that a hybrid baby will start to need to drink human blood once they reach their teenage years. I've never wanted blood." I reply.

"We don't know how much blood is needed. If it's only a little it could be that because you didn't know you needed it, you've never noticed the cravings. Plus for the last 6 months or so you've had my blood every day." He replies.

"I just remembered something. When Caroline showed up at the carnival and we were looking for her, you smelled the blood. Once you said the smell was blood I realised I had been able to smell it too, I just didn't know what it was until you said." I tell him.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" He asks. "It would make sense if you are a hybrid that you would have some of the perks."

"We were concentrating on Caroline, I didn't think much of it at the time."

"I guess. You could always try some blood, see how it goes?"

"I could I guess." I say.

"I need a blood bag anyway, I'll be back." He says before zooming out and coming back with a blood bag and two glasses. He pours a little into one glass and hands it to me. I sniff at it, and my mouth waters. I take a tentative sip, expecting it to taste horrible only to find it actually tastes good. I quickly finish the glass and lick my lips before I cry out in pain as small fangs descend in my mouth. Damon watches carefully.

"You don't get the red eyes, and the veins aren't as prominent. Let me see your fangs." He says. I lift my lips to show him.

"You have baby fangs." He chuckles. I cock an eyebrow at him. "They're not as big as normal Vampire fangs. Come here." He says, taking my arm and leading me to the bathroom. We stand side by side in the mirror and he lets his face change. I can see the difference between his face and mine. My eyes are darker, but not red. I have faint veins under my eyes, and I can see my fangs when I lift my lip. They're bigger than normal human canine teeth, but could still pass for them. They are, however, as sharp as normal Vampire fangs.

"Why did this never happen when I had your blood?" I ask.

"To complete the transition to a Vampire you have to have human blood, nothing else will work. Must be similar for you, without the whole only having 24 hours to do it in thing." He says. I nod, it does make sense.

"I'm sure things are looking a little clearer and brighter, and I can hear Scarlett's little snores from next door." I say.

"It's like you've activated your Vampire side." He replies. "I wonder if your senses are only half as good as mine, like your half face and fangs." He chuckles.

"It's hard to compare those. What about speed and strength?" I say.

"Race you to the kitchen?" He says. I don't reply just run. I feel faster than usual, but I'm obviously not as fast as Damon as when I reach the kitchen he's leaning against the counter.

"Yep, half speed. Faster than a human but not as fast as even a newbie Vamp." He chuckles.

"Don't pick on me." I pout.

He smirks and pulls me into a hug. "How are the cravings?" He asks.

"I could have some more blood, but I'm not going to rip anyone's head off if I don't get it. Wouldn't mind some pancakes though." I say.

"So you don't have the same level of bloodlust. That's definitely a perk." He says.

We head back upstairs and climb into bed. I take my laptop out and start typing.

"What are you doing?" He asks.

"Making a note of everything. The soulmate book Bree gave us told us about hybrids, but there was nothing about all of this. Having to have human blood to activate it. I want to get it all down for when Scarlett is older, and any other children we have." I tell him. He gives me a big grin.

"Still prepared to have more kids with me then?" He asks.

"Of course. Honeymoon baby remember?" I say. He kisses my temple.

"I remember, and I'm looking forward to it." He replies.

"This must have been why the spell affected me. " I say. "And do you think I'll need a daylight ring? Bonnie gave me the spell."

"So if you have a ring you can make one." He states, climbing out of bed and heading to his desk. He opens a drawer and pulls out a small black velvet box.

"I got this a while ago, after you said you would want to turn. I wanted to have it just in case, as anything could happen round here and you always have my blood in your system." he says, handing me the box. I open it to find a platinum ring. It has a lapis lazuli stone in a beautiful patterned setting, and fits my right hand ring finger perfectly.

"It's beautiful, thank you." I say, kissing him.

I get out the spell Bonnie gave me.

"I need sunlight to make the ring." I tell Damon. He gets up and closes the curtains. I look at him confused.

"Don't want to find out the hard way that the sun will hurt you." He says.

"You're right. Nothing worse than being burned to ash in your sleep." I chuckle. I pop the spell and the ring on the table next to the bed along with the laptop and rest my head on his chest. He turns the light off and we drift to sleep.


	28. Running In The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your comments and kudos, it's really appreciated. Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out, life has been hectic!

**March 5th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: And We Run; Within Temptation feat. Xzibit**

_And we run_

_With a lonely heart_

_And we run, for this killing love_

_And we run, 'till the heavens above_

_Yeah we run_

_Running in the dark_

_And we run, 'till we fall apart_

_And we run, 'till the heavens above_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up to Damon's arms wrapped around me as usual. I think back to what we discovered last night: I'm actually pleased. I was prepared to turn to be with Damon forever, especially after we found out Scarlett is immortal, and any future children will also be. I remember the ring Damon gave me last night and wiggle out of his hold so I can find out if I need to put the daylight spell on it. He grumbles and opens his eyes.

"Where are you going?" He asks sleepily.

"To see if I need to spell the daylight ring you gave me." I reply.

I step up to the window and open the curtain slightly, letting the sunlight fall onto my hand. It burns and I jump back.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Damon says, climbing out of bed. He takes hold of the hand that I just burned and kisses it gently.

"I think you might be right." I say as I get the ring and the spell from the table. I put the ring on the bed and ask Damon to open the curtains whilst I stay out of the way. I say the words of the spell.

"Done." I say. Damon picks the ring up and puts it on the ring finger of my right hand. I tentatively move my hand into the sunlight. Nothing happens.

"It worked." I say.

"Of course it did." Damon says with a chuckle, and he kisses me softly. His touch still sends shivers through my body, but I can feel it more now due my heightened senses.

"Is it strange that I'm happy about this?" I ask. Damon looks at me slightly confused.

"About being a hybrid or the daylight ring?" He asks.

"Well, both but mainly about being a hybrid. I'm no longer the odd one out." I say.

"No it's not strange. I'm happy too. I will always protect you but it makes me happier knowing you're harder to kill than we thought." he replies.

"I think I need... errr... breakfast." I tell him.

"Blood?" He asks. I nod in response.

"I'll be right back." He says, pulling his jeans on. He is back quickly with two blood bags.

"Try and stay in control. It will be hard but if you're in control from the start it will be easier." I nod and take the blood bag. I open the top and take a sip. I close my eyes as my face starts to change and take a deep breath.

"I've never seen a new vamp so in control. I thought Vampire Barbie was good, but you have her beat." Damon says.

I open my eyes and look at him. I take another sip and this time I'm in complete control. Damon puts his blood bag down and comes over, cupping my face.

"You are amazing." He says, kissing me. I hear Scarlett's heartbeat start to get a little faster.

"I think Scarlett will wake soon." I say. He nods in response.

"You're good at this." He says with a smirk.

"Come on, let's get ready for this volunteer thing." I say. We get ready and once Scarlett wakes up I feed her and get her ready. The three of us then head downstairs.

We're just getting our things together in the parlour when Stefan comes in. He's coming with us since he and Elena have 'broken up'. He explains how yesterday Katherine revealed she has been drinking vervain for the last 145 years and has built up a tolerance to it so that it doesn't affect her as much.

"I think we should do it." I say.

"We?" Stefan asks. "Why would you need to build up a tolerance?"

"Because we discovered something last night." I say.

"Discovered what exactly?" Stefan asks.

"When we were talking to Mason he said Imogen and Scarlett smell like Vampires, but not as strongly as we do. We know Scarlett is part Vampire because she's our daughter, so it seemed rational that Imogen could also be part Vampire." Damon starts.

"The book Bree gave us said that once a part Vampire child reaches their teenage years they would need to drink a little blood. I've never really craved blood, but as Damon and I share blood daily that probably satisfied my needs." I continue.

Stefan looks at us wide eyed.

"So you think you're part Vampire?" He asks.

"We don't think. We know. Last night to test the theory I gave Imogen a small glass of blood." Damon says.

"When I smelled it, my mouth watered, so I drank it." I say.

"And when she did it was as though she was completing the transition to become a Vampire, except she's only got half of the traits." Damon chuckles.

"What do you mean?" Stefan asks.

"My face, and my fangs." I say, and I let my vampire face take over.

"Hmmm" Stefan hums. "No red eyes, they just look darker, veins are really faint below the eyes, and baby fangs." He laughs.

I scowl at him. "I've already had him teasing me." I say.

Stefan chuckles. "I'm sorry. What about speed and strength?" he asks.

"Faster than a human, but not as fast as a regular baby vamp." Damon says.

"Same with senses?" Stefan asks.

"We're assuming so." I say.

"So that must mean your father is a Vampire and your parents were soulmates." Stefan says.

"Yep." I say.

"Have you told anyone else?" Stefan asks.

"Not yet. We'll fill them in but for now keep quiet." Damon says.

"Of course. Now, about that vervain." Stefan says.

"What about our blood sharing?" I ask.

"It's only a tiny amount. Hopefully it won't be too bad, if it is we'll have to stop the vervain." Damon replies. I nod.

Stefan gets a bottle of vervain liquid. Damon takes a small sip and I can see from his face it hurts. He coughs and I rub his back. Stefan takes a sip too, also coughing and grimacing. I take my turn and it's a little uncomfortable but I don't cough like they do.

"So we do that every day, slowly increasing the amount to build up a tolerance?" I ask.

"Yep." Stefan says.

"We should get Caroline to do the same." I say. They both nod.

We finish getting ready and I scoop Scarlett up from where she was playing. We head to the car and Damon gets Scarlett's seat strapped in.

"She's going to need a bigger seat soon." He tells me.

"I was thinking that yesterday. I need to go to the store and get her a new seat. The bigger ones need to stay in the car." I say.

"Then get two, one for your car and one for mine." He says.

"You'd let a car seat be permanently fitted into your precious Camaro?" Stefan asks incredulously.

"Yes Stef." Damon replies with an eye roll.

* * *

We arrive at the picnic. I find Elena and Caroline with Scarlett whilst Damon and Stefan chat with Mason. Elena and Caroline are painting and I'm trying to stop Scarlett 'helping' and making a mess. Elena and Caroline are talking but I'm not really listening, then Elena gets up and goes over to Stefan. Damon comes over to join us, and we all listen in as they continue their 'fake' fight.

_'I think Caroline is spying on them.'_ Damon thinks to me.

_'For Katherine?'_ I think back.

_'Wouldn't surprise me. She'll have threatened someone Caroline cares about to get her to do it.'_ He replies.

_'Urgh. Such a bitch.'_

The rest of the day goes well and we all head back to the Boarding house after the picnic. We explain what happened with me and that I'm a hybrid, as well as telling Caroline to start drinking vervain, which she agrees to do.

Elena is talking to Caroline in the parlour as she told us that Katherine will be at her house. She explained that Katherine threatened Matt if she didn't co-operate.

Damon, Stefan and I are in the kitchen giving Scarlett some dinner.

"You know, I think the same approach to blood would help you Stefan." I say.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"You could start with a few drops of blood each day and slowly increase how much you have. That would help you get used to human blood and build up your control. I think you struggle because of feeding on animals, so when you do have human blood you go a bit crazy." I explain.

"That is what I've been trying to say for years." Damon grumbles.

"I'll talk to Elena." Stefan replies. I nod in response.

Later that evening Scarlett is in bed and we're in our room, cuddling in bed watching TV.

"Will you teach me to live feed?" I ask, turning to look at Damon. His eyes widen at my question.

"You would want to?" He asks. "I thought you said you didn't have the usual bloodlust?"

"I don't feel a desperate need for blood, but I do want it. Blood bags are okay but I need to know I'm in control around humans. The only way to learn that is to actually feed on a living person. Plus there is no way I'm going to feed on animals like Stefan does."

"Of course I'll teach you. We'll get Stefan to keep an eye on Scarlett. Do you want to go now?" He asks.

"Yes. I really want to go hunting with you." I say.

"I'll go check with Stef." He says, leaving the room. He is back within minutes.

"He'll listen out for Scarlett." He says. "We'll only be a few hours anyway." I nod. We get our shoes on and head outside. He leads me into the woods and we start running. After a few minutes we stop.

"That is amazing." I say. He stands behind me with his hands on my hips.

"It is. The feeling of being free and being able to get where you want fast. Now listen. See what you can hear." He says.

I listen carefully. I can hear the animals moving around, and in the distance I can hear voices.

"I can hear voices in the distance." I tell him. He nods.

"Group of campers about a mile away." He replies. He leads me away towards them. We stop a little way from the camp.

"Now what?" I ask.

"We wait for one of them to wander away and get a snack." Damon replies. It doesn't take long for one of the campers to leave the others in search of fire wood.

"Compel him. Look him in the eyes, tell him what you want. You have to really want it when you're saying it." Damon says. I nod in response then go over to the man.

"Do not run or make a noise." I say, and I can feel the compulsion taking hold.

"I will not run or make a noise." He replies in a monotone voice. Damon comes over then.

"You want to bite here." He says, pointing out an area of the mans neck. I can see the blood pulsing under the skin, and I can hear it too. I nod and let my face change. I gently sink my fangs in and his blood pools in my mouth. I take a couple of mouthfuls and pull away. Damon looks at me wide eyed.

"You're hot when you feed." He says huskily. "And your control is amazing. You could take more than that and he would still be fine." he tells me.

"Why don't you have a bite." I say. He nods and let's his face change before biting the man and taking a few mouthfuls himself. The sight of him feeding turns me on. I get why he said it was hot when I did it.

"Now, heal and erase." He tells me. I heal the man and compel him to forget us. Once the man has gone Damon takes my hand and we run away from the camp, further into the woods. We stop in a secluded clearing and Damon looks at me, his eyes dark with lust.

"Show me your face." He says. I let my face change. "So, so hot." He growls then he captures my lips with his and before I can blink he has me pinned against a tree.

He cuts his tongue on of my fangs as we're kissing and I moan as I taste his blood on my tongue. I liked the taste of his blood before, but it tastes even better now. We break the kiss, both panting and I see his face has also changed.

"Does the vervain bother you?" He asks.

"Not at all, perhaps I have a higher tolerance as I'm only half vampire." I say. He hums in response before crashing his lips against mine again. I lick his lip asking for entry, which his grants. I explore his mouth and cut my tongue on his fang, and he moans as he tastes my blood. I pull back a little. "You okay?"

"Yes. I can taste the vervain but it's not bothering me." He replies.

We continue making out in the woods, and it's not long before I rip his shirt open, buttons flying everywhere. I run my hands over his chest and he moans at the touch as he unzips my jeans and pushes them down my legs. I unzip his and take hold of his cock. He hisses in pleasure as he moves his hand between my legs.

"Fuck, you're so wet." He growls. I moan in response before shimmying out of my jeans and panties and pushing him up against a tree. I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He gets the hint and turns us around so my back is against the tree and he thrusts into me hard and fast. It doesn't take long before we both reach our climaxes and Damon sinks to the ground with me still straddling him. We're both panting from the exertion. I rest my forehead against his.

"That was amazing." I breathe.

"Mmhmm" he hums in response. "It was good being able to completely let go now I know I can't hurt you."

"Does feeding always make you so horny?" I ask.

"Bloodlust can easily be directed to other emotions, like lust. I always want you, and feeding with you heightened that." he replies.

I kiss him slowly then climb off him. He stands up and we get dressed.

"We should get home." I say. Damon nods and we head home to bed.


	29. As Long As It Feels Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. I didn't kill Mason! I need song ideas for their wedding. Comment or PM me!

**March 8th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Under Your Scars; Godsmack**

_Do we make sense? I think we do_

_In spite of everything that we've been through_

_Oh when you say black and I say white_

_It's not about who's wrong as long as it feels right_

_Don't think those stars won't align_

**Imogen's POV**

I don't have college today so Damon, Scarlett and I are just lounging around the parlour. Scarlett is playing on the floor and Damon is laid on the couch, with me lying between his legs and resting on his chest. Stefan is out somewhere and Anna has gone to visit some friends for a few days. Ric is bringing over some of Isobels research for us to look through, so we're enjoying the quiet whilst we can.

I'm getting used to my new 'half vampire' traits, and have been making notes for when Scarlett is older. I like being able to see clearer and hear better, and I know Damon loves the fact he doesn't need to hold back in the bedroom. That is definitely a positive. Things were amazing before, but now... just wow.

I cut myself on a knife whilst cooking the other day, and found I also heal too. Not as fast as Damon does, but still pretty quickly compared to a human. We've still been taking tiny amounts of vervain which isn't the most pleasant thing, especially for Damon, but it hasn't affected our blood sharing. Neither of us is prepared to give that up, we'd rather stop the vervain. We love the connection that it gives, being able to feel the others feelings and to communicate telepathically. There's also the intimacy of actually sharing blood, though we have to be careful when we do it during sex. As much as we both want another baby, Damon is a little stuck in his 1800's ways and wants to be married before that happens. He told me that if he'd known I would get pregnant the night we met he would never have compelled me to forget until he wanted me to remember and he would have married me before Scarlett was born.

Damon is gently running his hands up and down my back and I'm so relaxed I'm nearly asleep when there's a knock at the door. I groan and Damon gets up to go answer it. I hear my brother's voice when Damon opens the door.

"I need to talk to you." Jeremy says.

"And why do I need to talk to you?" Damon asks. I know he's irritated that our quiet family time has been interrupted.

"Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his curse. He's not a werewolf yet." Jeremy tells him.

"Wow, fascinating. Not enough." Damon replies. He really doesn't want an interruption.

_'Be nice to my brother, grumpy.'_ I think.

_'But I was enjoying our cuddles.'_ he replies. I can feel the pout in his thoughts.

"But Mason Lockwood is and he's looking for a moonstone, a special rock connected to the werewolf legend. That's why he's here." Jeremy replies. He's doing his best to convince Damon he can help us.

"A moonstone?" Damon asks.

"And I know where it is." Jeremy says

"And you're bringing me this why?" Damon says

"Do I need a reason? Look, I just want to help, okay?" Jeremy says

"What do your sisters say about this little discovery?" Damon asks, knowing that Jeremy hasn't told me. He doesn't reply. "Oh, you haven't told them, have you?"

"Well, Elena doesn't want me getting involved in all this." Jeremy says.

"And you're a Gilbert and you just can't help yourself. You best come in and see what your biggest sister has to say." Damon says, letting him in the house. He leads him into the parlour where I'm now sat playing with Scarlett.

"Did you hear that?" Jeremy asks me. We explained to everyone about my new half vampire status after we discovered it, so he knows I can hear better than your average human.

"Yep." I reply. "So Mason is after this moonstone?"

"Yes, according to Tyler." Jeremy replies. He sits down and takes Scarlett from me.

"How is my favourite niece? I feel like I've not see you in ages." He says.

"She's good, growing fast." I reply with a smile. Just then the front door opens and Ric walks in carrying a box.

"Ric!" Damon calls.

"What are you doing here?" Ric asks Jeremy.

"Helping Damon and Immy. I'm the one who found out about the moonstone." Jeremy replies proudly.

"Does Elena know you're here?" Ric asks.

"Not exactly." Jeremy replies.

"It's none of her business. Elena doesn't get to decide everyone's lives for them. Jeremy found out some useful information and is helping. Damon and I will make sure he's safe." I say. Damon gently rubs my back as he can feel me getting annoyed.

"What you got?" Damon asks Ric digging through the box.

"This is Isobel research from Duke. Her assistant sent it to me." Ric replies.

"Vanessa. The one that shot me." Damon says, picking up a book. Ric takes it back.

"Vanessa, yes. Now, do you remember the old Aztec curse she told us about?" Ric asks Damon and I.

"Sun and the moon, blah blah blah blah blah." Damon replies. Jeremy walks over to us with Scarlett on his hip.

"An Aztec curse? Cool." he says.

"Yeah, supposedly vampires and werewolves used to roam freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power. Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun." Ric explains.

"Most of them, anyway." Damon says as we both wiggle our fingers to indicate our daylight rings. I think I spend too much time with him, he's rubbing off on me.

"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moonstone." Ric says, showing Jeremy the picture story of the curse.

"What do you mean sealed?" Jeremy asks.

"It's a witch thing, whatever seals the curse is usually the key to unsealing the curse." Damon replies.

"The moonstone will probably need to be destroyed in a ritual to release the curse." I explain further.

"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse." Ric says.

"If we start believing in some supernatural witchy-woo legend from a picture book, we're idiots. Who has the stone now?" Damon says. I chuckle at him. He gives me a look.

"What? You have such a way with words." I say with a shrug. He chuckles lightly at me.

"Tyler has it." Jeremy tells us.

"Can you get it?" Damon asks.

"Yeah." Jeremy replies. "So, you do believe it?"

"It's the same book that says a werewolf bite kills a vampire. Ignoring it would make me an even bigger idiot. Let's go." Damon replies, walking out. I roll my eyes.

"Drama queen." I say.

"I heard that!" Damon calls.

"You were meant to." I reply with a smirk at Jeremy and Ric. They both chuckle lightly.

We follow Damon out of the house. Ric takes Scarlett with him in case things get too scary for a baby, and Damon, Jeremy and I head to the Lockwood's.

We arrive at the Lockwood's and see Elena sorting through masks for the ball. She keeps looking at Bonnie and Stefan talking.

"Hey little sis." I say. She turns around and sees the three of us.

"Jeremy, what are they making you do?" she says, ignoring my greeting.

"They're not making me do anything." Jeremy tells her.

"He found some information and came to us with it." I say.

"Whatever is going on Jeremy, I want you to stay out of it." Elena tells him.

"It's Jeremy's life, Elena. He can make his own choices and Damon and I will protect him." I say.

"Plus, I don't really care what you want, Elena. I'm sorry, but you really don't get to tell me what I'm gonna do." Jeremy says, then walks away.

Damon and I head outside and find Stefan. He tells us what Bonnie saw when she touched Mason.

"Katherine's with Mason Lockwood?" Damon asks.

"We missed it. He got into town right after she did. It makes perfect sense." Stefan replies.

"Mason's too sweet to be with a bitch like her." I say.

"She's got to be using him. She has to be." Damon says.

"Using him for what?" Stefan asks.

"Mason's looking for a moonstone that allegedly can break the full moon werewolf curse. Maybe Katherine wants it as well." Damon says.

"Or, maybe Katherine is using Mason to ge the moonstone for her." I say.

"Why would Katherine want the moonstone?" Stefan asks.

"Well...no idea. That's the beauty of Katherine; she's always up to something." Damon replies.

"Certainly seems that way. When can we kill her?" I ask. The brothers both look at me with amusement.

"So, how are we gonna find this moonstone?" Stefan asks.

"Jeremy is getting it from Tyler." Damon replies.

"Why would you involve Jeremy?" Stefan asks, slapping Damon on the arm.

"He's playing Indiana Jones. He involved himself." Damon replies. Stefan looks at me sceptically.

"He did. Stop thinking of your brother as the bad guy all the time." I say with a scowl.

We all hear Jeremy talking to Tyler so we stop to listen. We hear how Tyler has already given the moonstone to Mason. I groan as I know what is coming.

"Imz, do you think the vampire headache thingy you do would work on Mason?" Damon asks me.

"It's an aneurysm, but vampires heal fast so I do it over and over. Should work on any supernatural with a fast healing ability. You're not killing him though." I say.

"And why not?" Damon asks.

"Think about it. There's every chance Katherine has sucked him in with her lies, the same way she did you two. He needs friends who understand what she's like and what she's put him through, not killing. He already explained what happened on the full moon and he won't let that happen again, so he's not a threat. I know it's a foreign concept to you Damon, but be his friend. I think he needs it."

"I think she's right." Stefan says. Damon glares at him before turning to me. His expression softens.

"Okay, but we need to talk to him." He concedes with a sigh.

"We do, so we'll talk to him and ask him to come to the boarding house for a chat." I say.

"I need to fill Elena in." Stefan says and walks away.

"And if he refuses to come?" Damon asks.

"He'll come." I reply. Damon kisses me on the temple whilst his arm goes around my waist and his hand rests on my hip. "You seem to have made friends with him already, between the BBQ and the volunteer picnic."

"I don't have friends, Imz. You know that." he replies.

"You do, you just don't admit to it." I reply, kissing his cheek. He smirks at me and nods slightly, indicating that I'm right.

"Just don't tell anyone." he replies.

"What, and ruin your big bad vampire image?" I say with a giggle.

"Exactly." He replies with a smirk.

We go to look for Mason and find him walking out of the house to his truck.

"Hey, Mason" Damon calls out.

"Oh hey guys." He replies.

"We need to talk" Damon says.

"Errr okay." Mason replies. "What about?"

"We'll explain everything. Can you head to the boarding house? We'll meet you there." I say.

Mason nods and climbs in his truck. We head to Damon's car and head home.

* * *

We arrive just as Mason is climbing out of his truck. We lead him into the parlour.

"No baby today?" Mason asks us.

"She's with Ric and Jenna." I reply. He nods.

"So what's all this about?" he asks.

"So...Katherine. How do you know her? What is she up to?" Damon asks bluntly.

"How do you know I know her?" Mason asks, confused.

"Bonnie is a witch. When she touched you earlier she got a vision of you kissing her." I tell him. He nods.

"How do you know Katherine?" He asks.

"She's my sister's doppelganger. And she has history with Damon and Stefan." I explain.

"When did you two meet? Did she seduce you, tell you she loved you? You're supernatural so she can't compel you. I'm sure she used her other charms. Katherine's good that way." Damon asks.

"I met her in Florida. And yes, she says she loves me." Mason replies.

"The only person Katherine loves is herself. She's using you." I tell him softly. He looks at me with sad eyes.

"What's Katherine doing in Mystic Falls?" Damon asks. Mason ignores him. "Why do you want the moonstone?"

"Mason, we can help you. Both Damon and Stefan have been where you are, used by Katherine for her own gains. She had Stefan believing she was dead and Damon believing she was locked in the tomb for 145 years, when she was free and could have found them at any time if she had truly loved either of them. All she did was tear apart the bond that two brothers, the best of friends, had.

If she is after the moonstone I can guarantee that it is for her own gain, not to help you. You deserve so much better than her." I say.

"She said she would use it to lift the curse so I didn't have to turn anymore." He says with a small sob.

"It really is a curse, isn't it?" Damon asks.

"It is. Every full moon every bone in my body breaks during the shift. She said she could help." Mason replies sadly.

"I have a feeling there is more to this curse than was in Isobel's research." I say. They both look at me. "It's just a gut feeling." I say with a shrug.

"I know your feelings. They're usually right." Damon says to me, before turning to Mason to explain. "She has a kind of sixth sense."

"I grew up babysitting you Immy. I trust you." Mason says.

"There's also the fact that if the curse really was the reason Vampires are affected by sunlight, our daylight rings wouldn't work. They wouldn't be able to override the curse." I explain.

"That is actually very true." Damon muses.

"Where is the moonstone?" I ask.

"In the well, on the edge of the old Lockwood property." He replies. Damon pulls out his phone and calls Stefan.

"Wait. The well is full of vervain. And snakes. I knew deep down I couldn't trust her." He says to Damon. Damon nods and tells Stefan.

"She's expecting me to meet her in an hour." Mason tells us.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't do that." Damon says. Mason nods.

"What do I do?" He asks. "If I go back to Florida she'll follow me there. If I stay she'll probably kill me once she realises I'm not going to give her the moonstone."

"For now, you can stay here." I say, looking at Damon, who nods.

"Why here?" Mason asks.

"She's been invited into the Lockwood house, she hasn't been invited in here and the only person who could invite her in, is me. Plus there is a back up barrier spell that means I have to key the vampire into a talisman by blood, so there's no chance she can get in. And, just to top it off, the whole house is spelled so she can't use vamp hearing from outside to hear what is discussed." I explain.

"Is that okay?" Mason asks Damon.

"Yes." Damon replies. "Pick a room and welcome to the Scooby gang." I chuckle at him.

"You know I said you smelt like a Vampire the other day?" Mason asks.

"Yep. And we thought I was possibly a hybrid like Scarlett?" I say. Mason nods.

"Did you work it out? You smell stronger now, but still not as strong as Damon." he asks.

"We did. I tried human blood that night and it was like completing the transition, but I'm only half vampire so my traits aren't as strong." I say. I show him my vampire face as an example.

"I see what you mean." He says.

At that point Stefan walks in with Bonnie and Caroline.

"Elena went home with Jeremy." He tells us. I nod. Stefan hands the moonstone to Damon.

"All this for that?" Damon asks.

"Yep" Stefan replies.

Damon hands the stone to me.

"I can feel the magic in it. Did you?" I ask Bonnie. She nods.

Everyone starts to go their own ways, Bonnie and Caroline head home, Mason goes to get his things and let Carol know he is staying with us, after Damon riled Katherine up on the phone by telling her Mason is no longer on her side. I went to pick Scarlett up, to discover that Katherine had attempted to compel Jenna to stab herself. Luckily she had put vervain in an anklet that Katherine didn't see, so it didn't happen, but it was enough to scare Elena into actually breaking up with Stefan for real.

We're finally in bed after setting Mason up in one of the spare bedrooms. Scarlett is asleep and we've resumed our cuddles from this morning.

"I was thinking." I start.

"Uh oh, that could be dangerous." Damon teases. I slap his arm playfully. "Seriously, what's on your mind?" He asks.

"I was thinking of bringing the wedding forward. I have a feeling this sun and moon curse is going to bring a lot of trouble and drama our way, so perhaps we should get married before everything goes mental." I say.

"You know I would marry you tomorrow if I could. If you think you can get it all planned then go for it. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there." He says, with a soft kiss.

"Everything is planned really. You, Stefan and Ric just need to get your suits. Everything else is chosen, we just need the dates changing. Caroline will be in her element, especially now she can use compulsion." I say.

"When are you thinking?" He asks.

"March 20th." I say.

"Just under 2 weeks." he states. I nod. "We could go away for a few days for your birthday as a mini honeymoon then have a proper one when all this blows over."

"I like that idea." I say with a sigh.

"Me too." he replies, kissing me again.

"I'll speak to Caroline tomorrow and get things moving." I say. It's not long before we both fall asleep, smiles on our faces.


	30. This Is Gonna Hurt

**March 9th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: This Is Gonna Hurt; Sixx:A.M.**

_Listen up, listen up_

_There's a devil in the church_

_Got a bullet in the chamber_

_And this is gonna hurt_

_Let it out, let it out_

_You can scream and you can shout_

_Keep your secrets in the shadows and you'll be sorry_

**Imogen's POV**

The next morning I wake up to Damon bringing me breakfast in bed, my favourite, pancakes and bacon and apple juice.

"What have I done to deserve this?" I ask.

"Nothing, I just wanted to spoil my beautiful fiancée, especially since you're going to have a crazy couple of weeks." He tells me, kissing my head.

"Thank you." I reply. "You're just a big softy aren't you?"

"Don't tell anyone that." He says with a mock glare, causing me to laugh.

I eat my breakfast and Damon goes to get Scarlett when she wakes up. I feed her and he gets her dressed whilst I shower. Once I'm ready for the day I call Caroline.

_"Hey Immy!"_ She says when she answers.

"Hey Care. Can you meet me at the Grill this morning? I need your help." I say.

_"Sure. I can be there in 30 minutes. What do you need help with?"_ She asks.

"Well, we decided to bring the wedding forward. I have this feeling that this curse is going to mean something big and we want to get married before everything goes crazy." I tell her.

_"Eeek! Say no more. I'll see you soon."_ she says excitedly before ending the call.

"Someone's excited." Damon says with a smirk.

"Planning is what she does best. She loves it." I say with a chuckle.

"Well I will look after Scarlett so you don't have any interruptions." He says.

"Thank you." I reply.

He digs his wallet out of his jeans and opens it. He pulls out his black Amex card and hands it to me.

"You might need this." He says.

"I do have money you know." I tell him.

"I know, but you shouldn't be paying for our wedding." He tells me.

"Okay, okay." I say and take the card from him.

"Be sure to get something sexy for our wedding night too." He says with a smirk.

"You seriously have a one track mind." I say, laughing.

He comes over and puts his hands on my hips, pulling me to him. "When it comes to you? Always." He says before kissing me passionately.

We break away a couple of minutes later, both panting.

"I should go before I end up late." I say. He nods. "Enjoy your Daddy and daughter time. And don't forget to arrange to get suits with Stef and Ric."

"I won't. What colour ties do we need?" He asks.

"Purple." I reply.

"I should have known." He replies with a chuckle. "Your favourite colour."

"Of course. I love you." I say.

"I love you too." he replies. I kiss him on the lips before kissing Scarlett and heading to the Grill.

* * *

I walk into the Grill and see Caroline sat in a booth. She waves me over excitedly. I take a seat opposite her.

"I'm so excited! It's a good job we already have everything planned it's just a case of changing the dates." She says.

"I'm excited too. I never thought I would get married so young but it's just so right." I reply.

"Is that the soulmate thing?" She asks.

"I think so, I mean I know I will never fall in love with anyone else. And despite what he wants everyone to believe he is a good man." I say.

"It's obvious. The way he looks at you. God, I wish a man would look at me that way." she says.

"How do you mean?" I ask.

"It's a cross between absolute love and adoration and him wanting to rip your clothes off." She says, making me blush. "It's so obvious he would do anything for you and Scarlett. He literally lights up whenever you walk into the room. He may want everyone to think he's a big bad vampire but he's not fooling anyone."

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't tell him that." I say with a chuckle. She nods.

"So, wedding plans! It will be warm enough for you to still have it in the backyard at the boarding house. I'll get the flowers delivered the day before then we can get the flower covered arch done. Dresses are ready to be picked up, I'll meet with the caterer and change the dates for the food, and the rings will be ready by the end of this week. To be honest we only really need to change the dates and tell everyone who will be there the new date." She says.

"Thank you. I'll pick the dresses up as they still need to be paid for. Give the caterer and florist my number and I'll pay over the phone. Damon gave me his credit card." I tell her.

"Oooh, aren't you tempted to go on a shopping spree?" She asks me with a giggle.

"Well, he did say I have to get something sexy for our wedding night." I reply.

"That's it! We're going shopping, then you can pick up the dresses and I'll go rearrange the dates for everything else." She says, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the grill.

* * *

A couple of hourse (and several phone calls to pay for things as Caroline changed the dates) later I get home. I take the dresses and my wedding night lingerie up to one of the spare rooms and hang them up before going back downstairs and finding Damon in the parlour, playing with Scarlett. He gives me a wide grin as I walk in.

"Everything sorted? I know the credit card has been well used, I had AMEX on the phone checking it was okay." He says with a chuckle.

"Yes, everything is rearranged and paid for. I've just put the dresses and something for our wedding night upstairs. No peeking." I reply. He pouts at me.

"Why not?" he asks.

"It's tradition, Damon. You don't get to see my dress until the ceremony." I say with a chuckle. He gets up and comes over to me, putting his hands on my hips and pulling me close.

"In all honesty, you could make a trash bag look sexy." He says, his lips ghosting over mine as he speaks.

"Da-Da" we hear. We turn around to see Scarlett has crawled over to us and is reaching her hands up towards Damon. "Da-Da."

"That's her first word." I say with a grin.

Damon grins and scoops her up.

"Hey baby." He says.

"Da-Da." she says again, patting his cheek.

"I can't believe that is her first word." He says.

"I should have known it wouldn't be me." I say with a chuckle. Scarlett leans towards me with her arms out.

"Ma-Ma" she says. I grin and take her from Damon.

"Okay, I'll take that." I say, kissing her head.

Just then the door opens and Caroline comes in.

"Care, whats the matter?" I ask when I see her expression.

"I saw Katherine at the Grill." She tells us, before explaining what Katherine said to her.

"I'm calling Stefan." Damon replies, taking his phone from his pocket. Once he has called Stefan he goes to get Caroline a glass of blood.

"Here." he says, handing her the glass.

"I'm still shaking." She says, taking a drink. Stefan comes in.

"What happened?" Stefan asks.

"Go ahead, tell him." Damon says to Caroline before turning to Stefan. "You're gonna love this."

"I saw Katherine today." She starts.

"Where?" Stefan asks.

"At the Grill. I just stopped by to gawk and...quasi-stalk Matt after sorting out the wedding arrangements." She tells him.

"Wedding arrangements?" Stefan asks. "I thought it was all taken care of?"

"We decided to bring it forward." I tell Stefan.

"Were you going to tell me?" He asks.

"Of course we were baby bro, but we haven't had chance. Besides, right now this takes priority." Damon says, gesturing for Caroline to continue.

"So I went in, and Matt asks me if I need a table. I told him I just needed the little girls room." She says.

"Skip the teen drama and get to it." Damon says, rolling his eyes.

"Then I had to pretend to use the bathroom even though I didn't really have to go because I'm a doofus. I was washing my hands when Katherine came in pretending to be Elena. I knew right away it was Katherine, but I played along. She asked if I was okay after seeing Matt and I tried to vamp speed past her but she grabbed me. She asked me how I knew so I told her I knew Elena was at home. Then she told me she needed me to deliver a message."

"What was the message?" Stefan asks.

"I quote 'Tell Damon and Stefan that I want the moonstone or I will rip this town apart until it rains blood.' She means it."

"Tell him the rest of it." Damon encourages.

"Tonight, at the masquerade ball." Caroline replies.

"She wants to do it in public. Getting Mason on our side threw her off guard." Stefan says.

"She's running scared. What she tried to do to Jenna was desperate. She's out of tricks." Damon says.

"I hate her." I say.

"Me too." Mason says, coming into the parlour.

"Did you hear all that?" I ask. He nods in response.

"We can't underestimate her. We have to play this smarter than her." Stefan says.

"That has to be the most sensible thing I've ever heard you say." I tell him. Damon chuckles.

"Can we just give her the moonstone so she'll leave?" Caroline asks.

"No Care. I know you're scared but we'll make sure she doesn't hurt you or Matt." I tell her.

"Katherine's not getting dick. I've had it. I'm gonna go to the masquerade ball and I'm gonna kill her, tonight." Damon says.

"You're not gonna kill her." Stefan says.

"Seriously Stefan?" I say.

"Don't give me that goody-goody crap." Damom tells him.

"You're not gonna kill her." Stefan repeats.

"Really?" Damon asks.

"Because I am." Stefan says.

"We're going to need a plan." I say.

"I'll call Jeremy, Anna, Ric and Bonnie. I want to keep Elena out of this, it will cause too many questions if she's at the ball as well as Katherine." Stefan says, pulling his phone out.

A while later Ric has arrived with his weapons. There's a knock at the door, which Caroline goes to answer.

"Hey, come on in." Caroline says to Bonnie, leading her into the parlour.

"I got Stefan's message." She says.

"Hey, you brought the grimoire, thank you." Stefan says to her.

"And I have mine" I say, pointing to a pile on the table next to Ric's weapons. Damon and Ric are stood next to the table talking and Mason is playing with Scarlett on the other side of the room.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asks as Jeremy and Anna walk in.

"We're gonna kill Katherine." Jeremy tells her.

"I can explain." Stefan says.

"Please do" Bonnie replies.

"We're gonna kill Katherine." Stefan tells her.

Ric picks up one of the weapons from the table to show everyone. "This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. I have two of these in different sizes. For you I recommend this. It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready." He says to Damon and Stefan. They look at each other then back at him.

"You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire." Ric says with a shrug.

"I know you love Elena and you want to be with her but it's risky. Too many people could get hurt." Bonnie says to Stefan.

"Look, I want Elena back, yes but it's more than that. What Katherine tried to do to Jenna crossed the line. She has to be stopped before she can cause some real damage." Stefan tells her.

"I don't know, Stefan." Bonnie replies.

"She's a threat, Bon. To all of us, including Scarlett. We need to do this." I tell her.

"Listen, Katherine knows me, right? She knows that I'm not gonna try something in a crowd full of innocent people so that gives me an edge. I could catch her by surprise." Stefan tells her.

Bonnie looks at me. "We could do a spell to trap her, like the tomb spell." She says. I nod.

"Right. We can isolate her, away from the others. Please Bonnie." Stefan says.

"If she's isolated no one else will get hurt." I tell her.

"Okay." Bonnie says with a smile. "I'll do the spell with Immy."

"Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Ric asks.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this." Stefan says.

"Keeping secrets again. When will you learn Stef?" I ask. I see Damon smirking at my comment. Stefan rolls his eyes.

"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight." Ric says.

"What about me?" Mason asks.

"And me?" Anna says.

"If Katherine sees you there Anna she will know something is going to happen. And Mason, it's probably safer for you to stay here or at the Gilbert house."

Anna and Mason both nod.

"I'll look after Scarlett here." Anna says.

"Thank you." Damon replies.

"I'll stay here and help her too." Mason says.

"Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan says.

"Yeah. Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong if someone chicken's out. Caroline?" Damon says.

"I won't. Look, she killed me. Fair's fair." She replies.

"Bonnie? Are you with us?" Stefan asks.

Bonnie nods. "But no one gets hurt."

"Except Katherine. Tonight Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon replies smugly.

Everyone leaves to get ready, except for Anna and Mason who are playing with Scarlett so Damon and I can get ready. We head upstairs and Damon runs a bubble bath for us. He climbs in first then I join him, my back resting against his chest. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. We lie there quietly for a while, enjoying our time alone before the ball tonight.

"So everything is ready for the wedding?" He asks me.

"Yes. We just need to get the backyard ready the day before and tell everyone the new date." I reply.

"How are you going to do that?" He asks.

"I was thinking of inviting everyone over for a meal on Friday and telling them all together." I reply. I feel him nod.

After a while we get out of the bath and shower off before getting dressed. I have a red dress with a black mask and Damon is wearing a black suit, white shirt and black mask. We head downstairs to wait for Stefan.

"You two look stunning together." Anna says as we enter the parlour.

"You really do. Wouldn't think you were planning on murder tonight." Mason says with a chuckle.

"Thank you." I reply. Damon just smirks.

Stefan comes in then, so we say goodbye to Scarlett and head out.

* * *

We arrive at the Lockwood's and are looking around outside.

"Do you see her?" Damon asks.

"Nope. You're sure you can do this?" Stefan asks.

"Who are you talking to?" Damon replies.

"Oh, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated." Stefan tells him.

"Well that is the fork in the road between you and me brother. I don't hesitate." Damon replies.

"You spent 145 years loving her, it could happen." Stefan retorts.

"I won't hesitate. I spent 144 years infatuated with the idea of her. Then I met Imogen, who showed me what real love is. She's a threat to my family and friends. She has to go." Damon says.

"Okay." Stefan replies.

"I need to find Bonnie. I will see you in a bit. Please be careful." I say to Damon.

"I will. I love you." Damon replies.

"I love you." I reply. We kiss then I go to find Bonnie.

* * *

I find Bonnie with Jeremy. Jeremy leads us to an empty room.

"I thought this room could work." He tells us.

"It's perfect." Bonnie says. I hum in agreement. Bonnie pulls out Emily's grimoire.

"Is that the spell book I read about in my family's old journal?" Jeremy asks.

"It's my ancestor, Emily's. The spell I'm doing here is similar to the one that sealed the vampires into the tomb." Bonnie tells him.

"Can you do all the stuff that's in there?" Jeremy asks her.

"It takes practice. I've worked on some small spells. Spells that only do good. I don't want to know too much. I don't particularly enjoy any of this, in case you haven't noticed." Bonnie tells him.

"What about you Immy?" Jeremy asks me.

"I have some of my family's grimoires that Bree gave me. I've practiced some of the spells, the good ones. I enjoy it though." I say.

"You're both witches, that is so cool." Jeremy says.

"Technically, I'm a hybrid." I say with a flash of my fangs. I move out of the room so I don't get trapped in once we do the spell.

"It's anything but cool. Did your family journals tell you what happened to Emily? It never ends well for people like me." Bonnie says.

"It won't be like that for you. We will protect you." I say.

"If you feel that way, why help? Immy could have done the barrier spell." Jeremy says.

"Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt and I don't know how to stay out of it. I also promised to protect Scarlett and I trust Imogen and Damon to keep me safe." She replies. I smile at her.

We hold hands and chant together, doing the barrier spell on the room.

"It's done." I say.

"We need to let Stefan and Damon know the room's ready." Bonnie says. We head downstairs when suddenly I feel magic powers.

"Do you feel that?" Bonnie asks. I nod.

"What's the matter? Are you cold?" Jeremy asks.

"No." Bonnie says and she heads over to a brown skinned girl.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" Bonnie asks her.

"No, I'm a plus one, I know no one, but it's a great party though." the girl replies before leaving. Bonnie comes back over to us.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asks.

"I just got a weird vibe. Let's find Damon" she replies. We carry on looking around for Damon. We find him and I go over.

"The room is ready. Please be careful." I say.

"I will be fine Imz." He replies before kissing me and heading off, grabbing Stefan on the way. Jeremy goes off to wait for the signal to play his part in luring Katherine to the room, and Bonnie and I go to wait outside.

Jeremy finds us a little while later with Elena in tow. I roll my eyes at her presence. She can't keep out of things.

"What the hell is going on?" She asks us.

"We're killing Katherine." I tell her.

"You guys are trying to kill her here?" She asks, incredulous.

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy tells her.

"Okay, stop with the "we", are you guys crazy? You're gonna get yourselves killed." Elena says to Jeremy and Bonnie.

"We know what we're doing, Elena." Bonnie says.

"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me?" Elena asks.

"It's not just you, Elena. She's messed with all of us. She's a threat to Scarlett. She has to be stopped." Jeremy tells her.

Suddenly Elena screams in pain. I smell her blood and see a wound on the back of her shoulder. Another appears on her arm.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asks.

"It must be Katherine. She's linked to Katherine, get them to stop! Now!" Bonnie shouts. Jeremy runs off to alert Damon and Stefan to stop. I can sense Damon is in danger.

"It hurts." Elena cries.

"Can you break the spell?" Bonnie asks me. I hold Elena's arm and can feel the spell. I remember that I can siphon magic, so I concentrate on doing that. I feel the spell leave Elena and onto me. Wounds appears on my arm and shoulder but they heal.

"I can't break it but I've managed to take the spell onto me. I will heal faster than Elena." I say. I cry out as a cut appears on my hand. We watch it heal. Jeremy reappears.

"Are you okay?" He asks Elena.

"Yes. Imogen took the link. Is Stefan okay?" She asks.

"They're both stuck in there with her." Jeremy says, looking at me. "Are you okay Immy?"

"I'll be okay. I heal fast." I say. "Is Damon okay? I sensed he was in danger."

"He's fine. You were right; Katherine had a witch link Elena to her." Jeremy says to Bonnie.

"The girl we saw, the one inside! Stay here." Bonnie says, dashing off.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy shouts after her.

"There's another witch here, I'm gonna find her!" She replies.

"Stay here." I tell my siblings before walking away.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asks.

"To see Damon. I need to make sure he's okay myself." I say and head to the room.

I reach the room and stand outside.

"Damon" I breathe.

"Imz. What are you doing here?" He says, coming to the door, but he can't get through because of the barrier.

"Making sure you're okay. I could feel you were in danger." I say in a worried tone.

"I'm fine." He replies with a smile. I sink down to sit on the floor outside the room. Damon does the same on the inside.

"Well isn't this fun? The three of us together just like old times. The brother who loved me too much and the one that didn't love me enough." Katherine says. I can tell she's trying to get to me.

"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself." Damon says. I smirk at his reply.

"What happened to you Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite." Katherine asks.

"Oh, that Damon died a long time ago." he tells her. I smirk because I know he can be sweet.

"Good. He was a bore." Katherine replies.

"Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other?" Stefan says.

"I think it's funny watching Katherine think she's getting to me." I say.

"Where is the moonstone?" Katherine asks, changing the subject.

"What do you want with it?" Stefan asks.

"Does Elena enjoy having both of you worship at her alter?" Katherine asks. I snort with laughter. She glares at me.

"I don't know where you get your information, Katherine, but I can assure you the only one worshipping at Elena's alter is Stefan." I say.

_'She's trying to get you to doubt me.'_ I hear Damon say in my head.

_'I know. It won't work. She clearly doesn't know how the soulmate bond works, nor that I can see right through her.'_ I reply. I see him smirk in response.

"That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you?" Stefan says.

"So it doesn't bother you that Damon's in love with your girlfriend?" She asks him. I laugh again.

"Oh, stop it." Stefan tells her, irritated.

"Or what? You'll hurt me?" Katherine asks, getting up.

"Come on, Stefan. Everything that I feel, Elena feels, so go ahead." Katherine says.

"Actually, she won't. I siphoned the link off her, so you're now linked to me." I say.

"Imz! Why would you do that?" Damon asks.

"Because I heal fast." I tell him. He sighs, but nods, indicating he understands why I did it.

"You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires so what's in that for you?" Stefan asks.

"Sorry about your pet wolf switching sides. You probably should have kept him on a tighter leash." Damon says.

"I'll have to remember that for next time. He's not the only wolf in town." Katherine says.

"Tyler hasn't activated the curse." I say.

"Yet." Katherine replies with a smirk.

"Damn it! Where is that witch?" Damon asks.

"We could play charades." Katherine says.

"You bargained the moonstone." Stefan states.

What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon asks.

"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?" Stefan asks.

"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus two...And it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." Katherine says, looking at Damon. "Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"You and me both, honey. But after 144 years Imogen showed me what real love is. The tomb was only opened so Anna could get Pearl out and I could stake you."

"Why do you need it back?" Stefan asks, mind still on the moonstone.

Katherine ignores his question. "I love you in a suit, so dashing."

"What were you doing with it in the first place?" Stefan asks.

"You're wasting your breath, Stefan." Damon says, rolling his eyes.

"Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864 you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?" Stefan asks.

"I get the feeling she's avoiding your questions Stef." I say.

"In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi. Come on Stefan, don't look so surprised. Of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching you." Katherine tells Stefan.

"Who were you running from?" Stefan asks.

I roll my eyes and Damon chuckles at me. He stands up and goes to pour himself a scotch.

"We're missing the party. I'll have one of those." Katherine says.

"Right away Miss Katherine." Damon says, mimicking a servants voice. He pours her a drink and hands it to her.

"Thank you." She replies, taking a drink. He grabs her and pushes her against the wall.

"The second the spell is lifted, I'm gonna drive a stake right through your heart." he growls at her.

"God, you're hot. When did you get so hot?" Katherine says.

"Hands off, doppelbitch. He's hot and he's all mine." I say with a glare.

The dark skinned girl from earlier appears. She gives me a nod and I feel I can trust she's on our side.

"Katherine, the spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave." She says, holding the moonstone up.

"Thank God." Katherine says.

"When I hand this over my debt to you is over. "She says.

"Done." Katherine says.

"I owe you nothing." She says.

"I said done, Lucy. Give it." Katherine says.

"I wouldn't do that." Damon says. I shake my head slightly at him. He nods slightly to let me know he understands I want him to leave the girl to it.

Lucy gives her the moonstone and Katherine starts struggling to breathe when she touches it.

"You should have told me other witches were involved. One is a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that. The other is a Jacobs witch."

Katherine falls to the floor. I am fine, I can no longer feel the link.

"The spell is broken, as you can see." Lucy says, gestering to me. Damon comes over and wraps his arms around me, nuzzling my neck. He always does that to calm himself down.

"I apologize for my involvement." Lucy says before leaving.

The three of us look at an unconscious Katherine on the floor.

"Can we kill her now?" I ask.

"I have a better idea." Damon says.

"What's that?" Stefan asks.

"Put her where she should have been all along." Damon says. "Think you have another barrier spell in you?"

"The tomb?" I ask. Damon nods. "Sure, I can do that." I reply.

"You have a body to get rid of as well." Stefan reminds Damon. He nods.

"Come on Imz." He says, leading me to the car.

Damon drives, he drops the body over the ravine and then we head to the tomb. We put Katherine in and then I cast the barrier spell. She wakes up as I finish and tries to tell us that Elena is in danger. We shut her in and head home.

"It's been a long day." I say as we enter our bedroom.

"It really has." Damon replies, coming up behind me. He massages my shoulders and I sigh loudly.

"That feels so good." I moan.

"Get ready for bed and I'll carry on." He says. We get ready for bed and Damon continues massaging me. It doesn't take long before I fall asleep.


	31. Trouble Looks For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an update. Two more chapters then it will be the wedding. Trying to get these out of the way because I'm excited to write the wedding! Thanks for your comments and kudos!

**March 10th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Trouble; Five Finger Death Punch**

_'Cause there's no excuses, this is who I'm meant to be_

_There's no regrets_

_I don't care if you believe_

_There's no excuses, this is who I choose to be_

_I don't look for trouble_

_Trouble looks for me_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake the next morning with my head resting on Damon's chest. I remember falling asleep whilst he was giving me a massage. He gives excellent massages and I always end up falling asleep on him. I sigh and nuzzle in closer. I feel his arms tighten around me, indicating that he is awake.

"Morning. Sorry for falling asleep on you last night." I mumble.

"Morning beautiful. It's okay, you were tired." he replies, kissing my head.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"10am" Damon replies.

"Did Scarlett actually sleep in?" I ask.

"No, Anna has her downstairs so you could rest." He replies.

"That's nice of her." I say.

"I think she feels she owes us since we asked her to move in here after John killed her Mom and Harper." He replies.

"She doesn't owe us anything, although a lie in is definitely much appreciated." I reply.

We're interrupted by Damon's phone. He checks it and sees Stefan's name on the screen.

"Baby bro." he groans before answering.

"Yes Stef?" he says into the phone.

_"Elena's missing. She didn't go home last night, Jeremy assumed she was with me, but she wasn't. Her car is still at the Lockwood's."_ Stefan tells him. I jump out of of bed and strip out of my pyjamas. Damon watches intently.

"What can we do?" Damon asks.

_"Meet me outside the school?"_ Stefan replies. I nod.

"Sure." Damon replies, hanging up.

"You know you stripping off like that makes me want to drag you back into bed?" he tells me.

"Any other day I would happily let you." I tell him.

"I know babe." He replies jumping out of bed himself and getting dressed. I don't miss the erection he's sporting as a result of seeing me get undressed.

Once we're dressed we head downstairs.

"Elena's missing." I tell Anna.

"Go. I've got Scarlett." She replies.

I hug her. "Thank you."

* * *

We arrive at the school and see Stefan waiting outside for us. We climb out of the car and join him.

"This has Katherine written all over it." Stefan tells us.

"Katherine's in the tomb. Trust me; we're the ones who shut her in." Damon replies.

"Then who could it be? Stefan asks.

"Katherine did say something to us right before we shut her in. We thought she was lying." Damon says.

"What did she say?" Stefan says.

"She said that Elena is in danger." I tell him.

"What? And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?" Stefan growls.

"Everything she says is a lie. How are we supposed to know if she's gonna start spouting out the truth?" Damon growls back.

"We have to go talk to her." Stefan says.

"No, no. Let me tell you how that's gonna go: We're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us! This is exactly what she wants!" Damon shouts.

"I don't really care." Stefan shouts back.

"Stop it! Both of you stop shouting!" I shout. They both stop and look at me.

"Damon's right. If you go to Katherine she is going to negotiate her release and I'm not letting her out. Besides, she might not even know where Elena is. I can do a locator spell using Jeremy's blood to find her since they're blood related."

"Okay. That's probably a better idea than talking to Katherine." Stefan says.

"I know." I say, rolling my eyes. "Get Jeremy and meet us somewhere with a map."

Stefan nods. "Ric will probably let us use his classroom." He says.

"I'll call him." Damon says.

Stefan leaves to find Jeremy and Damon calls Ric. He says we can use his classroom but we don't have long. Damon sends Stefan a text and we head to the classroom. Ric stocks us up with weapons and tells us we have 10 minutes to do the spell and get out of the room. Stefan arrives with Bonnie and Jeremy.

I spread the map on the table and take Jeremy's hand. I cut it so a few drops of blood fall onto the map, then bite into my wrist and give him my blood to heal the cut. I concentrate on finding Elena's location and the blood moves to a spot on the map.

"She's there." I say, pointing to the spot.

"That's 300 miles away." Jeremy says.

"I know." I sigh.

"We need a more exact location than that." Stefan says. I roll my eyes.

"That's as close as I can get from this far away. I can get a closer location when we're in the area." I say.

"I could map it, aerial view will show us what's around there, help us narrow down the area." Jeremy says.

"That's a really good idea, Jer. Give us a call if you find anything."

"No, no, I'm coming with you!" Jeremy exclaims.

"No Jeremy, you're not." Stefan tells him.

"I'm not gonna just sit here. What if she's hurt?" He says. "Or worse? What if she's...?"

I hug my brother. "Jer, she's not dead. I wouldn't have been able to get a location if she was. If she's hurt there are 3 of us that can heal her."

"Okay." He says reluctantly.

"Anna is looking after Scarlett. You can go to the boarding house and help her." I say.

"Sure. Not going to say no to spending time with my girlfriend and niece. Will you keep me updated though?" He says.

"Sure we will." Damon tells him.

Damon, Stefan and I head to Damon's car and climb in.

"Why do you get shotgun?" Stefan asks me.

"Because this is Damon's car and I said so." I tell him. Damon chuckles at me.

The drive is long and we're all quiet. I'm worried about my sister, Stefan is worried about her too, and Damon is worried about me getting hurt helping to rescue her, but he knows better than to argue with me over it.

Stefan is looking at a little bottle of vervain in his hands. Damon glances at him in the rear view mirror.

"Alaric sure likes his weapons. What the hell is that?" Damon asks.

"I don't know, it's a vervain bomb or a grenade launcher or something like that." Stefan replies.

"Weird." Damon replies. I carry on staring out of the window.

"Hey, how much further is it?" Stefan asks.

"About 80 miles." Damon replies.

"Who do you think took her?" Stefan asks.

"Someone from Katherine's past. She said she was running from someone. I'm assuming they got the wrong girl." Damon replies.

"Thank you for helping us." Stefan says. My eyes widen in surprise. He's rarely nice to Damon.

"Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing? The cliché of it all makes me itch." Damon retorts. I chuckle slightly and look at Damon. He meets me gaze and gives me a small smile, whilst reaching over to give my thigh a reassuring squeeze. He can feel I'm worried.

"Oh, come on Damon. We both know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me anyway." Stefan says. I roll my eyes.

"The elephant in the room lets out a mighty roar." Damon says. He and I both know the elephant is that Stefan thinks that Damon is only here because of me. That's not the case, he's here to help Stefan as much as he is me.

"Well, it doesn't have to be an elephant. Let's talk about it." Stefan replies. I sigh.

"There's nothing to talk about." Damon tells him.

"That's not true. I'm sure there is. Just get it out. I mean, are you in this car because you want to help your little brother save the girl that he loves? Or is it because you love her too? Hmm? I mean come on, express yourself. I happen to like road trip bonding." Stefan says.

I shake my head. "So you believe what Katherine said last night, huh?" I ask.

"There must be some truth in it." He replies.

"There's not. We're soulmates. Have you not listened to anything we've told you about that?" I snap.

"Well... errr..." Stefan stammers.

"Listen, Stefan. I know you have spent the best part of a century and a half demonising your brother, but you seriously need to pack it in. I know he's done horrible things in the past. He's never lied or kept that from me, but I do know that underneath it all there is a man who just needed his brother all those years. He's here for both of us. For you, as your brother, to save the girl you love, and for me, as my fiancé, to save my sister. Neither him nor I will EVER love anyone else romantically. We are it for each other. For eternity. We will love people as friends, or family, but that is it. So yes, he loves Elena, as family because she's my sister. He's not, and never will be, IN love with her. Rant over."

"Keep it up, Stefan. I'm sure you don't want to see her explode." Damon says. He has hold of my hand and is rubbing circles with his thumb to calm me down. Stefan sits quietly in the back of the car.

A little while later Damon breaks the silence.

"We're getting close if you want to try another locator spell?" He says to me.

"Okay." I say, pulling out a local map we bought at a gas station and a vial of Jeremy's blood. I spread the map on my lap and pour a few drops of blood on it. I close my eyes and concentrate on Elena's location. When I open my eyes the drops have moved to a large house indicated on the map.

"Is this where Jeremy found on the aerial map?" I ask Stefan, passing him the map.

He takes it from me and looks before answering. "Yes it is."

"Then we're nearly there. Pass me a blood bag from that cooler please Stef." Damon says.

"Me too." I say.

Stefan passes us both a bag.

"There's an access road just past mile marker 6." Stefan says. Damon glances at him in the mirror and sees him eyeing the blood bag he's drinking from.

"If you want some, just ask." He tells Stefan.

"I want some." Stefan replies.

"Ah, that's so sweet. You're gonna be all big and strong and save your girl but don't worry, we've got your back. It'll be fine." Damon says. I chuckle.

"I'm not joking. I've been drinking a little every day. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength." Stefan says.

"You listened to my suggestion then?" I ask.

"Yes, I did." He says.

"Does Elena know you're drinking blood?" Damon asks.

"I've been drinking hers." Stefan tells us.

"Hmm, how romantic."

"You and Imogen share blood." Stefan scoffs.

"Yes, we do. Every day. You should try it. The bond it creates is incredible." I say. Stefan scoffs.

"Since we're road trip bonding, remember the days when all you lived for was blood? You were the guy who ripped someone apart just for the fun of it." Damon says.

"You mean when I was more like you?" Stefan asks.

"Yes, Stefan, exactly. Back when you put blood into me so I could be a big bad vampire. I wonder if Elena would be so quick to open her veins to that guy. By the way, what happened to that guy? He was a hoot." Damon says, rolling his eyes.

"I guess he found something else to live for." Stefan says. I roll my eyes and glance at Damon. He glances at me and smirks.

We see the access road and Damon pulls in. He parks the car behind some trees so it can't be seen. We get out of the car and load ourselves with weapons.

"Imz, stick with me. I don't want you getting hurt and if whoever has Elena is after Katherine they could easily be over 500 years old." Damon says.

"We need to be close so I can cloak us." I say.

We head up to the house. As it comes into view I concentrate on cloaking the three of us.

"Invisique" I mutter. Damon takes hold of my hand and we enter the house.

"Stay here and concentrate on keeping us cloaked." Damon tells me, leading me into a small room just off the main entrance. I nod and they both disappear at vamp speed. I hear glass breaking and suddenly Damon appears next to me with a dark haired woman I don't recognise. He has his hand over her mouth and gestures for her to be quiet before letting go. He kisses me quickly and disappears again.

I hear Elena's voice and then fighting. I panic and drop the cloaking spell, running towards the sound. I appear just as Damon pins a man in a suit to the door with a coat rack through the heart.

The man's eyes widen as he sees me. "You." he whispers before he greys out, dead. I run into Damon's arms as Elena runs down the stairs into Stefan's arms. The woman Damon left with me comes in, looks at the dead man and runs. Damon goes to chase after her but Elena stops him.

Elena tells us that she learned in order to break the sun and moon curse she has to be sacrificed. I just hope we can protect her.

* * *

We arrive home after dropping Stefan and Elena at the Lockwood's so she can pick up her car. We find Anna, Jeremy and Mason in the parlour.

"Scarlett is in bed." Anna tells us.

"Thank you for looking after her." I say, slumping down into the couch.

"Where are Elena and Stefan?" Jeremy asks.

"Stefan took her home." Damon says, pouring two glasses of bourbon. He hands one to me and I take a big sip. "Anyone else?"

"Please." Mason says.

"No thanks, I'm going to head home and check on 'Lena" Jeremy says.

"I'll come with you." Anna says. They leave and Damon hands Mason a glass of bourbon before sitting on the couch next to me. I sigh and rest my head on Damon's shoulder.

"Hard rescue?" Mason asks.

"Not that so much as the fact that for sun and moon curse to be broken, Elena has to be sacrificed." I tell him. His eyes go wide.

"Do you think Katherine knew this?" He asks.

"Oh yes. The reason she's been running is she was meant to be the doppelganger used in the sacrifice 500 years ago, except she turned herself into a Vampire to avoid it." I say.

"She's been on the run since, which is why she faked her death in 1864." Damon says.

"So, what, she was going to offer the moonstone and Elena for not having to run?" Mason asks.

"That's my best guess." I reply.

Mason sits back letting out a long breath.

"I was right not to trust her and switch sides. Thank you for not just killing me." Mason says sincerely.

"You have this one to thank for that." Damon says, nodding his head towards me. "Before I met her I would have killed you without hesitation as your bite can kill a vampire."

"Then I'm pleased I didn't meet you before you met Imogen." Mason says with a chuckle.

Stefan walks in and pours himself a bourbon before taking a seat next to Mason.

"Listen, um, what Rose told Elena about the curse..." Stefan starts.

"I know, we'll protect her, like we protect everyone in the Scooby gang."

"You know, the only way we're gonna be able to do that is if we're not fighting each other. We let Katherine come between us. We can't let anyone get between us again." Stefan says.

"Tell me something I haven't been saying for months." I say.

"Yes Stefan, I heard it all before." Damon says.

"Hey." Stefan says.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"About what?" Damon asks.

"For being the guy who made you turn 145 years ago. I get you're still upset from what you said earlier." Stefan says.

"Enough Stef, it's late. Don't need to rehash that." Damon tells him.

"You know what? I've never said it out loud. I guess I just need to say it and you need to hear it. I'm sorry. What I did was selfish. I didn't want to be alone. I guess I just needed my brother." Stefan says.

"Like he's just needed his brother for the last 145 years, like I told you earlier." I say. Stefan nods.

"Sounds like you both need each other." Mason says.

"So the pair of you need to put the past behind you and be brothers again." I say.

I feel Damon nod and kiss my head. Stefan nods at me.

"On that note, it's time I went to bed." I say. We say our goodnights and head upstairs to bed.


	32. Gotta Make A Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is such a filler chapter. Not much of anything really interesting, but needed to happen. What shall I do about Rose? Save her or still have her bitten by a werewolf? Answers on a postcard...
> 
> Thanks for your views, comments and kudos. I don't anything TVD related.

**March 11th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: World on Fire; As Lions**

_I see the lights_

_I see a world on fire_

_I see the times_

_And I fear for you and I_

_I see the blind_

_As they lead the blind_

_Open our eyes_

_Can we leave it all behind_

_This world's on fire_

**Imogen's POV**

We're woken up really early the next morning by Stefan knocking on the bedroom door. I groan loudly.

"I just want to sleep. It's still dark." I mumble.

"Me too." Damon groans back.

Stefan knocks again.

"I know you're both awake, can I come in?" he calls.

"I suppose we should be pleased he knocked this time." I groan, quickly throwing my pyjamas on and getting back in bed.

"You can now." I say. Damon doesn't care that he's still naked under the sheets. I snuggle up to him as Stefan walks in.

"We had a visitor last night." He tells us.

"Who?" Damon asks.

"Rose." Stefan replies.

"What the hell is she doing here." I ask.

"She knows Lexi. She says we need her help because although Elijah is dead, there are other Originals, including the one who wants to sacrifice Elena, Klaus." Stefan explains.

"She's my sister. I won't let that happen." I say, starting to cry.

"It's okay baby. We will protect her." Damon tells me, pulling me closer to him and kissing away my tears.

"We should get Elena over here. Rose is outside, I'm sure she knows more." Stefan says.

"Okay. I'll be down in a while to see if I can feel she's trustworthy. If she is I'll invite her in." I say. Stefan nods and leaves the room.

I nuzzle into Damon's neck, breathing in his scent. Like my scent calms him, his calms me. I breathe in deeply taking in his scent of sandalwood, bourbon and spice that I can now smell better since my vampire 'transition'. I close my eyes and he tightens his hold on me and rubs my back. We lie there for a few minutes in comfortable silence.

"You okay?" Damon asks, concern in his voice.

I pull back a little so I can look at him. "Yeah, just worried for Elena." I say with a sigh. He gives me a small smile and kisses me gently.

"I know. We will do what we can." He tells me.

We get up and dressed and head downstairs. We step outside and see Rose sitting on the wall.

"What can we do for you Rose?" I ask.

"I think you need my help." She says.

"And why would we want your help when you kidnapped my sister to hand her over to be sacrificed?" I ask.

"Look, Trevor was my best friend. He made a mistake and we spent 500 years running. Now he's gone and I have nowhere to go. Elijah may be dead but there are others that will come for Elena. I have no one else. I just want friends. I want to help." She tells us.

"She's telling the truth. Stefan, get Elena over here. Rose, welcome to the Scooby gang. Please come in." I say, walking into the house. I grab the talisman and go over to Rose who is still stuck at the door looking confused.

"You know the sun will be up soon, right?" She says.

"I need you to put a few drops of blood on here." I says. She looks at me quizzically. "I'm a witch. This talisman binds a boundary spell. I need your blood to key you into it so you can enter." She nods and cuts her finger, spilling a few drops of blood onto the talisman. I close my eyes and concentrate on the spell.

"You will be able to enter now." I say, and she walks in the house, following us into the parlour.

I hear Scarlett upstairs.

"I need to get the baby." I say. Damon nods and I go upstairs. I feed her and get her dressed before going back to the parlour where Damon, Stefan, Rose, Anna, Mason and Elena now are.

"You have a baby living in a house full of vampires?" Rose asks.

"If you want to get technical, she's a hybrid, living in a house with three vampires, a werewolf and a hybrid." I say with a shrug.

"A hybrid?" She says. I sigh. Repeating our story is getting old.

"Yes. I'm half vampire, half witch." I say.

"That's not possible." She replies.

"Actually it is." Damon says. Scarlett leans towards him, arms out at the sound of his voice.

"Da-Da." She says. Damon grins and takes her from me. Rose's eyes widen.

"And she calls Damon her dad?!" Rose asks.

"Well he **_is_** her Dad, what else would she call him?" I say.

We explain that soulmates can have children, and that Damon and I are soulmates. Rose promises to never tell anyone about us and to protect us, the same as the rest of our crazy 'family' has.

Rose then tells us about Klaus and how he's real. She also tells us how he doesn't stop until he gets what he wants. Once she has finished Elena says she's heading to school. Stefan says he'll go with her, but she refuses. I get the feeling she isn't really going to school but I don't know what she's planning.

We head into the kitchen to get breakfast leaving Rose in the parlour. Stefan heads to school and Anna and Mason both head out. When we go back into the parlour we see Rose crying.

"All right Rosebud. We need some answers. Oh please don't tell me you're crying 'cause your buddy Trevor lost his head." Damon says.

"You always been this sensitive?" Rose asks.

"Welcome to Damon." I say laughing.

"Full vampire switch for this very reason. Takes the emotion out of it." He says, smirking.

"Yeah, you switch yours, I'll switch mine." Rose says.

"Why would I want to do that?" Damon asks.

"He couldn't turn it off even if he wanted to." I say.

"I know. It's a lie. There's no switch you can turn off. Sure when you're a newbie but after a couple of hundred years...you just have to pretend." Rose says.

"Actually it's part of the soulmate bond. His switch was turned back on when we met and he can't turn it off now." I say.

"Is that true?" Rose asks.

"Yep. 50 years in the off position and one look at her flipped it. And I tried to turn it back off but it's not possible." he says.

"The soulmate bond is that strong?" She asks.

"We've been told ours is extremely strong." I say.

"Look, How do we find Klaus?" Damon asks.

"You don't find Klaus, he finds you." Rose says.

"Why do we want to find him?" I ask, confused.

"To warn him off." Damon says with a shrug.

"I don't think he'll listen." I say.

Damon shrugs. "We have to try." He tells me, before turning to Rose. "Come on. Somebody's got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?"

"Add another two hundred somebodies to that and you're still not even close." She replies.

"Humour me. You got in touch with Elijah, how did you do it?" Damon says.

"Through a very low somebody on the totem pole. A guy named Slater in Richmond." Rose replies.

"We're not going to contact Klaus." I say.

"Okay, but we can go and have a chat with this Slater guy." Damon says.

I sigh. "Okay, but just a chat. No contacting Klaus."

"Perfect. I'll drive." he replies.

"No. You forget not all of us can do sun." Rose says.

"Then you drive." Damon says with an eye roll.

"I can help you with that." I say to Rose.

"Really? You would do that?" She asks.

"Prove your loyalty, and yes, I will." I say. She hugs me.

"Thank you. I've not been in the sun in over 500 years. I miss it." she tells me.

"Come on." Damon says impatiently.

"We need to drop Scarlett at daycare. Anna will pick her up." I say. They both nod and we head to Rose's car. We drop Scarlett off and I text Anna to pick her up which she agrees to, and we head to Richmond.

* * *

We pull into an underground parking lot in Richmond.

"Back entrance. How convenient." Damom says sarcastically as we get out of Rose's car. I know from his tone and feelings he doesn't trust Rose. He has trust issues, I get it. I hope he can overcome them in time.

"That's the point. We can't all have little daylight rings." Rose retorts.

"You will soon." I tell her. She smiles at me.

"How do you know this Slater guy is even here?" Damon asks as we start walking towards the coffee shop door.

"I called him when you two dropped Scarlett at daycare. He's here. He's always here." Rose replies.

"Good." Damon says, then uses vamp speed to push Rose up against the wall. "Just one thing. If you're setting us up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at, and I'm extremely protective of my mate." He growls.

Rose grabs Damon and vamp speeds him up against the car, his arm twisted behind his back. "I'm older than you and stronger. Don't get on my bad side. You can trust me." She says, letting him go.

"Damon has trust issues, caused by decades of betrayal." I say.

"I noticed." Rose replies. Damon shoots me a look.

"You'll need to earn it. I trust you because I can sense you mean what you say and are good. He trusts me so he's giving you a chance. But you'll need to earn his trust by proving you can be trusted." I explain further.

"I get it." She replies with a smile.

"Now if we've finished with the threats and displays of which vampire is stronger, can we get inside?" I ask, causing them both to chuckle.

We enter the coffee shop, which has floor to ceiling windows.

"Whoa. What about the sunlight?" Damon asks.

"Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?" Rose tells him.

A man joins us. "That and the free Wi-Fi." he says as Rose hugs him.

"Hey, how are you?" She asks him.

"Good. I saw you come, what are you doing here?" Slater replies.

"Mmm, it's a long story but I want you to meet..." Rose says.

"Damon Salvatore. Turned 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova. So I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church was true?" Slater finishes. Damon gives him a stony look.

"Yes. It was right. Thank you for the tip." Rose says.

"And you are...?" Slater says, looking at me.

"Imogen Gilbert. Soon to be Salvatore." I say.

"It's nice to meet you both, maybe. I'm assuming you're engaged?" He asks.

"We are." Damon says, wrapping his arm around me.

"What's going on Rose? Where's Trevor?" Slater says.

"Trevor's dead." Rose tells him.

We order coffees and head to the table Slater was sitting at before we arrived.

"They kidnapped my sister to hand her over for their freedom. Elijah granted Rose her freedom but killed Trevor." I say.

"And then I killed Elijah so we could rescue Elena." Damon says.

"And you're sure Elijah's dead?" Slater asks.

"Beyond dead." Damon replies.

"Trevor was a good man; he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD." Slater tells us.

"Slater's been in college since '74." Rose explains.

"When I was turned. I have 18 degrees, 3 master's and 4 PhDs." Slater continues.

"That's dedication." I say.

"What's the point?" Damon asks.

"Exactly, I mean, what is the point? What should I be doing with my eternity? If you have an answer, please enlighten me." Slater asks.

"Damon would probably say drinking, blood and alcohol, and sex." I say with a chuckle. Damon wiggles his eyebrows at me.

"We need your help. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?" Rose asks.

"Craigslist." Slater replies.

"Really?" Damon asks.

"Craigslist? Not the answer I was expecting." I say.

"Seriously. I respond to a personal ad to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead and that's where my connection ends." Slater says. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Here's what I don't get: Elijah moved around during the day, which means the originals knew the secret of the day ring. Now why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?" Damon asks.

"This is the question I've been asking myself." I say.

"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa." Slater tells us.

"I have a feeling there is more to the curse than that." I say.

"And werewolves are extinct." Rose says. I laugh.

"True. I've never seen one but rumour has it..." Slater starts.

"Not such a rumour." Damon interrupts.

"Mystic Falls? God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome." Skater says.

"Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it. Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?" Damon asks.

"What do you mean?" Slater asks.

"The doppelganger is my sister. I don't want her to be sacrificed." I say.

"If we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?" Damon asks.

"Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?" Slater says.

"Because I don't want my sister to die." I tell him. For someone with so many degrees he doesn't like to listen.

"Tell me how." Damon states.

"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an original? And keeping them from walking in the sun?" Slater says.

"You want to walk in the sun? We can make that happen if you help us. Imogen is a witch." Damon replies.

Just then the glass windows shatter. Rose and Slater's skin starts to burn. Damon grabs me to check I'm okay. I see Rose is burning and she is screaming. Slater grans his laptop and runs. I grab Rose's jacket and throw it over her. Slater is nowhere to be seen, he must have ran.

Damon and I lead Rose out of the coffee shop and back to the car. Damon helps her into the back seat.

"You're gonna be okay." Damon tells her.

"I know." Rose replies. Her skin is healing.

"Who's behind that?" Damon asks.

"I don't know. Where is Slater?" Rose asks.

"He ran." I say.

"Iowa by now. Who the hell knows?" Damon retorts.

"He's not behind this, he's a good guy, he wouldn't betray me." Rose tells us.

"Who did it?" Damon asks.

"It's Klaus, don't you understand? You don't know this man, we're dead, we're all dead." Rose says, starting to cry. I hug her, then we get in the car. Rose is in the back, Damon is driving and I'm in the passenger seat.

* * *

The journey home is quiet. Damon has hold of my hand all the way, our fingers tangled together

We arrive home and find Anna and Jeremy in the parlour playing with Scarlett.

"Thank you so much for picking her up Anna." I say.

"It's fine. I love spending time with her." She replies. Scarlett comes crawling over to us.

"Ma-ma, Da-da" She babbles. My heart melts as I bend down to pick her up.

Jeremy and Anna head out to the Grill and we take Scarlett upstairs. Damon changes her then I feed her. Once she's done we put her to bed and head back downstairs.

"We're sat in front of the fire with a blanket over us cuddling when Rose comes in.

"I'm sorry about today. I didn't know that was gonna happen." She tells us.

"We believe you." Damon replies.

"I wish we could save Elena. I know that you want to." She says.

"And we will." Damon tells her.

"You remind me of Trevor." She says to Damon.

"Why? Why him?" Damon asks.

"Because he always talked a big game, he was always working on an angle but underneath it all, he was the best friend anyone could hope for." She explains.

"He just doesn't want anyone to know." I tell her. She chuckles.

"Where did that get him?" Damon asks.

"Dead and my loyalty to him almost got me dead too." She replies.

"I'm sorry Rose." I say.

Damon pours us all a glass of scotch.

"To friendship." He toasts. We all clink our glasses and take a drink.

"Thank you. For giving me a chance." She says to us.

"Don't make us regret it." I say.

"I won't." She replies. Her phone rings and she answers it. We can hear that Slater is on the other end. He tells her that the moonstone can be destroyed by a witch. We just need to get it from the tomb. Rose heads to bed after the phone call.

"That gives me hope at least. I'm going to look into spells to bring her back to life if we don't manage to stop the sacrifice from happening though." I say.

"Okay. We can go through your grimoires together." He replies.

"Did you get suits sorted out with Ric and Stefan?" I ask.

"We're going first thing in the morning." He replies. I nod.

We sit quietly for a few minutes when Stefan comes in and pours a glass of Scotch for himself before downing it in one.

"Something up Stef?" Damon asks.

"Elena went to the tomb and spent most of the day talking to Katherine." He tells us.

"She find out anything useful?" I ask.

"That's what you're concerned about? Not the fact that your sister went to see Katherine and could have been hurt?" Stefan snaps.

"Katherine can't get through the spell. I put it up, I know for a fact she can't get out. Elena isn't stupid enough to cross the barrier for Katherine to get to her." I say.

"Well, she told Elena that there is more than just the moonstone and the doppelganger needed to break the curse. A werewolf and vampire are also needed. It's why she made sure Tyler triggered curse and why she turned Caroline. A witch is also needed, she had Bonnie. She was going to hand you all over for her freedom from Klaus." he tells us.

"She was just going to hand them all over?" I exclaim. Stefan nods.

"And the best part is that because she turned herself so she wasn't sacrificed, Klaus killed her entire family." he says.

"So Elena is now worried that no matter what happens people will die." I state.

"Yeah. She was pretty upset." He tells me.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. It's late." I say.

"Let's head to bed. Damon says, helping me stand.

I just hope this supernatural shit storm we're in can hold off until we get married.


	33. Sell My Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This again feels like a filler chapter. Next chapter will be the wedding then there will finally be answers!

**March 12th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Fragile Minds; Silent Theory**

_So sell me down the river_

_First help me sell my soul_

_It's something I know I can deliver_

_I think we've finally broke the mould_

**Imogen's POV**

I'm currently wondering what drama today will bring. Damon, Ric and Stefan have gone to get their suits, a bit of normalcy in our crazy lives. We're getting married in 8 days time! Caroline took care of everything and now it's just a waiting game.

I'm in the kitchen giving Scarlett her breakfast when Damon and Stefan come in. Damon comes over to me and kisses the top of my head before taking the seat next to me.

"We went to see Katherine." He tells me.

"Why?" I ask.

"To ask for the moonstone." He tells me. I burst out laughing.

"Did you really think she would just give it you?" I ask.

"I thought it was worth a try." Stefan says. I shake my head.

"We're going to see your sister, you coming?" Damon asks.

"Just let me finish giving Scarlett her breakfast." I say with a sigh.

Once Scarlett is finished we all get in Damon's car and head to the Gilbert house.

"Hey 'Lena" I say as we walk into the kitchen.

"Hey Immy." She says. She comes over and takes Scarlett from me.

"Hey Scarlett. How's my favourite niece?" She asks.

"We went to see Katherine." Stefan tells her.

She raises an eyebrow at him.

"What for?" she asks.

"To ask for the moonstone." He tells her.

"I'm guessing she didn't give it to you." She replies.

"No. But she said she will if we get her out of the tomb" Stefan replies.

"You don't believe her, do you?" Elena asks.

"Even if they did I'm not letting her out and I doubt Bonnie will either." I say.

"No, of course we don't believe her. We just want the moonstone." Damon says.

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break." Stefan explains.

"No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice. Ergo, you live, and I have a happy fiancée and a happy brother." Damon says, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"How do you destroy it?" Elena asks.

"By releasing it from the moonstone." Stefan says.

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?" Elena says.

"Cause we have a couple of crafty witches on our side." Damon says with a smirk.

"You discussed it with Bonnie too?" Elena asks.

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us." Stefan tells her.

"And I will too. Between Bonnie and I we should be able to destroy the spell."I say.

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you." Elena says.

"They already know that. Not without something in return and she's not getting what she wants." I say.

"We're gonna get it from her." Stefan says.

"Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hand if we have to." Damon explains.

"We just need to find a way to get in, get the moonstone, and get out before Katherine can escape." Stefan says.

"Wow. I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out." Elena says.

"Apparently they do." I say with a frown.

"Yep. We're awesome." Damon says.

"Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it." Elena tells us.

"What are you talking about? Elena, we don't have a choice." Stefan asks.

"What about Klaus?" Elena asks.

"We'll find him right after we get the moonstone." Stefan says.

"Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about, including the four of you?" Elena says, pointing at Stefan, Me, Scarlett and Damon. Damon has a slightly shocked look on his face and I can feel he is surprised - he thought Elena hated him because of the things Stefan has told her about him.

"Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life." Stefan says.

"I know. Everybody keeps saying that." She replies before handing Scarlett to Damon and walking out.

I sigh. "We can't win. If we destroy the moonstone Klaus will seek vengeance. If we don't my sister will die."

"We'll work something out. Let's go for lunch, just the three of us. Family time." Damon says. I nod in response and we leave. Damon takes us to the Grill, leaving Stefan to deal with Elena.

* * *

We arrive at the Grill and get seated in a booth. We get a high chair for Scarlett and start looking at the menu. We order burgers and drinks for us and kids pasta for Scarlett.

"Are our lives always going to be this complicated?" I ask Damon.

"Unfortunately, I think so. I'm a Vampire, you and Scarlett are hybrids, we have vampires, witches, werewolves and a doppelganger in our friends and family. Things are never going to be normal." He tells me, taking my hand.

"I don't even want normal, just to be able to wake up knowing that no one is chasing one of us to kill us." I reply.

"It will be okay. Why don't you contact Bree and see if she knows of a way to save Elena in case we can't stop the sacrifice? There must be a way to bring her back to life." He says.

"I will. I need to go through my grimoires too." I explain.

Our food arrives and we eat. Scarlett makes a mess with her pasta and has us both laughing at her. Once we've finished we clean her up and Damon pays the bill.

"This is nice. Just being 'normal' for a little while." I say.

"Why don't we carry on being 'normal' for a while longer and take Scarlett to the park?" Damon suggests.

"Yes! Let's go be normal. Or as normal as we can be." I say.

We head to the park and we play with Scarlett for a while. We're really enjoying ourselves and Scarlett absolutely loves being pushed on the swings. I make a mental note to ask Damon if we can get some kind of outdoor play set for the back yard for her.

A while later I'm pushing Scarlett on the swing and Damon is sitting on a bench nearby. I hear his phone ring. He answers and I can hear the conversation.

"Rose. We're having much needed family time, this better be important."

_"Don't be angry with me."_

"Why, what did you do?"

_"You need to get to Richmond immediately."_

"Tell me."

_"Elena convinced me to bring her to see Slater to get more information on Klaus but she's trying to contact him to hand herself over."_

"Fuck sake. We'll be there soon."

I'm already on the phone to Jenna to ask her to look after Scarlett. I explain that Elena is trying to hand herself over and she is happy to look after her so we can go and stop my sister doing something stupid. We drop her off and head to Richmond in Damon's car, breaking every speed limit.

"Do you ever get stopped for driving fast?" I ask.

"Yep." He replies with a chuckle.

"Compulsion?" I ask.

"Of course." He replies. I laugh in response.

We pull into the parking lot of the address Rose sent us. We climb out of the car and head to Slater's apartment. We stand outside and listen to what is going on inside.

_"Vamp speed in and surprise her."_ Damon thinks to me. I nod in response. We can hear she is in the kitchen getting a glass of water.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asks. Elena turns around and gasps when she sees us.

"What are you two doing here?" She asks.

Rose comes into the kitchen.

"You called them?" Elena asks Rose angrily.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Rose says.

"You said that you understood." Elena says.

"She lied." Damon says.

A girl with dark hair comes in. She sees Damon and looks at him with a starstruck expression.

"Damon Salvatore!" She exclaims. I growl quietly and glare at her.

"Get rid of her." Damon growls at Rose.

"No way!" She says.

Rose grabs her arm and takes her away.

"Come on. We're leaving." Damon says.

"No." Elena replies.

"Don't be stupid Elena. We're leaving." I say.

"I'm not going with you." Elena says.

"Yes, you are." I growl.

"You do not get to make decisions anymore." Damon says.

"When have I ever made a decision? Stefan does that for me. Now this, this is my decision." Elena says.

"It's a stupid decision, which is why you're done making your own." I tell her

"Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?" Damon asks her.

"Neither of you are listening to me. I don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that I love." Elena says.

"We will find a way, Elena, but handing yourself over like this, is stupid." I tell her

"Get your ass out the door Elena." Damon says, taking her arm to lead her out.

"No!" Elena growls, throwing a punch at Damon. He grabs her fist before she can hit him.

"Don't ever do that again." Damon growls before letting go of her fist and walking away. Elena looks at me.

"Don't _ever_ try to harm my mate again. Sister or not, you don't understand the strength of the soulmate bond and the protectiveness we feel for each other." I growl before following Damon. We head into the bedroom where Rose took the girl. Damon compels her to forget about any of us being here and to sleep.

Once she's asleep he pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me.

"I heard what you said to Elena. I can look after myself." He tells me.

"I know you can, but you know how it is. The protectiveness and how strong that is. Even though she's human and I know you can look after yourself I still wanted to protect you." I say.

"I know. I get it. I feel it with you too." He tells me. We hug for a little while longer before we pull apart.

"Come on, let's get your sister and get out of here." He says. I nod in response.

We walk out of the bedroom back to where Elena is sitting with Rose.

"Time to go. Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day." Damon says.

The front doors suddenly burst open revealing three men. We turn to look at them. One remains in the doorway whilst the other two enter the apartment.

"We're here to meet the doppelgänger." one of the men says.

"Thank you for coming." Elena says, trying to walk towards them. Damon stops her and whispers to her that he'll break her arm if she tries to get past him.

"There's nothing here for you." Damon tells them.

Suddenly the man in the doorway drops to floor dead. We see Elijah standing behind him. I wonder how since Damon killed him. Elijah vamps to the other two men. We hear Rose gasp and then she vamps out of the apartment.

Elijah looks over at the three of us, his look softening as he looks over me.

"I killed you. You were dead." Damon says.

"For centuries now." Elijah replies before looking at the man who spoke earlier. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the man retorts.

"I'm Elijah." he says.

"We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelgänger. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her." The mans tells Elijah.

"Does anyone else know that you're here?" Elijah asks.

"No." the man replies.

"Well, then, you have been incredibly helpful." Elijah replies before plunging his hands into the two vampires chests and ripping their hearts out. He drops them to the floor before turning to me. Damon tries to step in front of me, but I put my hand on his arm to stop him.

"Imogen" Elijah says quietly. I don't understand how he knows my name.

"I know you have questions you need answers to, but now is not the time nor the place. I will see you very soon." he says, then he vamps out of the apartment leaving the three of us stunned.

"Why do you think he killed those vampires and left us alive?" Elena asks.

" If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me..." Damon says.

"How does he know my name? And how does know I have questions about my parents?" I say, still stunned.

"I don't know." Damon says, wrapping an arm around me. "Come on, let's get out of here.

The ride home is quiet. I'm thinking about what Elijah said. He obviously knows something. Elena is silent as she's annoyed we went to stop her handing herself over.

We eventually arrive back at the Gilbert house to drop Elena off and pick up Scarlett. We head inside and see Jeremy looking at us with a serious look on his face and a bandage on his neck. Jenna also looks serious.

"What?" Damon asks.

"It's Stefan." He replies.

"What about Stefan?" Elena asks.

"Stefan, Bonnie and I thought we could get the moonstone. Bonnie made a powder to incapacitate Katherine and she was going to lower the tomb spell long enough so Stefan could get in and get the moonstone. Making the ash made her nose bleed, so I was worried that she wasn't strong enough to drop the spell." He explains.

"She wouldn't be. She hasn't had much training really, and I had to draw on all my types of magic to spell it in the first place." I say. Jeremy nods.

"So... I took some of the ash and went to the tomb whilst Bonnie was getting her grimoire and Stefan was getting some torches. I took Katherine down with a stake in the shoulder and the powder and went in to get the moonstone. Unfortunately Katherine woke up before i could get out."

"And she used you as a snack." Damon replies, nodding at the bandage.

"Yeh... she did. Anyway, Stefan and Bonnie arrived, and Bonnie tried to take the spell down, but she couldn't. Katherine went to feed on me again so Stefan ran in and threw me out of the tomb. Now he's stuck."

"Oh my god Stefan!" Elena exclaims.

"Elena, quiet. Scarlett is asleep." Jenna says.

I sigh. "Jenna, can you watch Scarlett a while longer?" I ask.

"Of course." She says with a smile.

I turn to Damon. "We best go get your brother." I say. He nods and smiles at me.

We head to the tomb, with Elena in tow.

"Stefan!" She shouts once we get there. He comes to the entrance, Katherine following behind.

"Oh looky, it's the soulmate." Katherine says. I roll my eyes.

"Katherine." I say.

"Imogen. You going to let us out or what?" She asks.

"I'm getting Stefan out. You're staying put." I say with a smirk. She glares at me. I raise my hand and twist it, snapping her neck with magic.

"Stefan, hold my hands." I say, reaching my hands across where the barrier is. He grabs hold and I close my eyes, muttering the spell under my breath. After I couple of minutes I stop, open my eyes and let go.

"You can come out now." I tell him with a smile, stepping back. He walks out. Katherine wakes up and tries to follow him, but is stopped by the invisible barrier.

"Let me out." She growls.

"No chance. Bye Katherine." I say as Damon and Stefan put the 'door' back in place. We head back to the Gilbert house to pick Scarlett up before heading home.


	34. Trust I Seek And I Find In You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Wedding is finally here! This chapter will go between both Imogen's and Damon's POV's so we get to know what they're both thinking/feeling.The Aerosmith song was my first dance when I got married!
> 
> I'm kind of skipping Episode 11 of season 2. Most of it centers around Jules coming to town to look for Mason, but that won't happen as Damon didn't kill him. The next chapter will feature lots of Elijah, answers and a bit of a plot twist!

**March 19th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Songs:**

**Nothing Else Matters; Metallica**

**Don't Wanna Miss A Thing; Aerosmith**

**I Found; Amber Run**

_Trust I seek and I find in you_

_Every day for us something new_

_Open mind for a different view_

_And nothing else matters_

~°*°~

_I don't want to miss one smile_

_And I don't want to miss one kiss_

_And I just want to be with you_

_Right here with you, just like this_

_And I just want to hold you close_

_I feel your heart so close to mine_

_And just stay here in this moment_

_For all the rest of time_

~°*°~

_And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be_

_Right in front of me_

_Talk some sense to me_

**Imogen's POV**

The last few days have been pretty uneventful, but busy. Bonnie did have to spell Elena into the Gilbert house at one point when she stole the moonstone from her bag and was going to try and hand herself over. She finally got the hint that none of us are going to let her do that.

I've not heard from or seen Elijah since the day at Slater's apartment in Richmond. Rose reappeared at the Boarding House that night, explaining that she still wants to help but she ran because of Elijah, and she knew we would keep Elena safe.

My mind keeps wandering back to Elijah and what he said. He's right, I have questions about my parents, mainly my father as he is obviously a vampire. I just hope he meant it when he said he had answers and I would see him soon.

The week has been busy with final preparations for the wedding. There are two new witches in town, Luka, who Bonnie has befriended at school, and his Dad, Jonas Martin. Due to me being so busy he helped Bonnie destroy the moonstone. Now we just have to hope that Klaus doesn't kill us all for doing it.

I made Rose a daylight ring, so she can go out in the sun. She told me that Bree also made Lexi and Lee daylight rings.

I'm currently laid in bed with Damon. We're both awake, lost in our own thoughts. We're enjoying every second as Caroline has made it clear we are not to see each other before the ceremony so I'm staying at the Gilbert house tonight. The girls have planned a night in, movies, take out and pampering. The boys are getting together at the Boarding house for drinks. They have strict instructions from Caroline not to trash the place since it's our venue.

"This is your last day as a bachelor." I say to Damon, finally breaking the silence.

"Mmmhmm" He hums. "If you'd have told me a couple years ago I would be getting married I would have laughed. My days revolved around blood, sex and bourbon."

"They still do." I laugh.

"True. But the sex is only with you now. Its only been you since the night we met." He tells me.

"There was seriously no one else between that night at the party and you meeting me in the coffee shop?"

"Seriously. I tried, but you were in my thoughts and it never felt right so I didn't."

"I love you." I tell him.

He squeezes me a little and kisses me gently. "I love you."

"How long do you think we have before Caroline drags us out of bed?" I ask.

"Who knows. Let's just enjoy it whilst we can." He tells me.

It's only a few minutes later when there's a knock at the door followed by Caroline shouting at us to get dressed and help get everything ready. We get up, dressed and head downstairs.

"Morning!" Caroline trills as she sees us.

"Morning Care." I say.

"There's coffee in the kitchen. Grab some and meet me outside." She tells us before disappearing. We grab coffee from the kitchen where Anna is giving Scarlett her breakfast.

"Morning. Thanks for looking after her Anna." I say.

"It's fine, I love spending time with her." She replies with a grin.

We head outside where several people are already helping to get things ready. There is an arch which is being covered in flowers, which is where we will get married. Tables are being set up for us to sit down and have a meal, and a small area which will become the dance floor.

Several hours later everything is ready and Caroline is happy with how it all looks. I go up to our room to get mine and Scarlett's things for our night at the Gilbert house. Damon follows me up. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead tenderly.

"Tonight will be the first night we've spent apart in months." He says, pouting.

"I know. I'm not happy about it but it's tradition." I say.

"I know. It's just one night though." he replies.

"Mmhmm" I hum.

"I just wanted to say that I'm happy I get to make you my wife tomorrow. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of eternity with."

"I'm happy too. There's no one else I would want to be with." I say.

"I best let you go." He says with a sigh.

"Don't trash the house tonight." I say.

"We won't. We have Caroline's orders. Enjoy your girls night." He says.

"Thank you. I will see you tomorrow. I love you." I say.

"I love you too." He replies before kissing me.

I grab my bags and head downstairs where Caroline is waiting with Anna and Scarlett. Jenna, Elena, Grams and Bonnie are already at the Gilbert house.

"About time." Caroline says. I roll my eyes.

I turn to Damon and give him another kiss. "Bye." I say.

"Bye." He says.

We head out to the car and climb in. It's not long before we're at the Gilbert house.

* * *

We spend the night enjoying ourselves. We order pizza, have a few drinks, watch a movie and pamper ourselves. We do face masks, manicures and pedicures. We chat and laugh and have fun. Before we know it, it's 1am.

"I've really enjoyed myself tonight, but I need to get to bed. Scarlett doesn't do lie ins." I groan.

"Yes, you have a big day tomorrow. Can't have a tired bride." Caroline says.

Grams leaves and the rest of us pile into bed. Caroline shares with Elena and Bonnie shares with me. I get changed into my pyjamas in the bathroom and climb in bed. I check my phone and see a message from Damon.

**_Our bed is too big without you xo ~Damon_ **

I tap out a reply.

_**You pouting again? xo ~ Imogen** _

_**Yes. You know me too well xo ~ Damon** _

_**It's just one night. We can do this xo ~ Imogen** _

_**I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it xo ~ Damon** _

_**I don't like it either xo ~ Imogen** _

_**I miss you both xo ~ Damon** _

_**We miss you too. We love you xo ~ Imogen** _

_**I love you both too. Good night Miss Gilbert xo ~ Damon** _

_**Good night Mr Salvatore xo ~ Imogen** _

I put my phone on the charger as Bonnie comes in. We get in bed and turn the light off. It takes me ages to fall asleep, between missing Damon being wrapped around me and being excited for the wedding, there is too much on mind. I eventually drift off.

* * *

**March 20th 2010, Mystic Falls Virginia**

**Damon's POV**

I wake up alone, and in my half awake haze wonder where Imogen is. Then I remember that she stayed at the Gilbert house last night because we're getting married today. Yes, today, I, Damon Salvatore, am getting married to the love of my life. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there, myself included, that would say I'm the last person they expected to see get married.

Don't get me wrong, when I was human it was all I wanted. I wanted to find love, get married and have children. Then Katherine happened and I became a Vampire. I spent decades feeding on people, having sex and getting drunk. I travelled the world and though I say I've only been to a college campus for the sorority girls, I have in fact gotten a couple degrees over the years.

I still have days where I can't quite believe I have Imogen. She accepts me for who I am. She doesn't make me change my ways, but I have changed anyway because I want to. I'm sure I don't deserve her, but I'm selfish and knowing she's my soulmate makes it impossible to do anything but be with her.

I really missed Imogen last night. I won't admit it to anyone but her, but I slept horribly without her in my arms. I felt like a piece of me was missing with her not being in bed with me and not being able to hear Scarlett's breathing and heartbeat from her room.

I sigh and look at the time. 10am. We're getting married at 1pm. I throw some clothes on and head downstairs to see if there is anything that needs to be done before I shower and get dressed in my suit.

I see Caroline in the parlour.

"Morning Caroline." I say.

"Hey Damon!" she replies.

"Is there anything that needs to be done?" I ask.

"No I don't think so. I'm just checking everything as it should be. The caterers will be here in a couple hours but I've told Stefan where everything needs to go. All you need to do is get ready and be under the arch with Stefan and Ric at 1pm." She tells me.

I give her a wide smile. "Okay, I can manage that." I say.

I head to the kitchen and grab a coffee and blood bag before going upstairs to take a shower and get dressed.

* * *

**Imogen's POV**

I'm woken by Scarlett babbling in her crib. I'm so used to sleeping with Damon that I didn't sleep well without him. I'm surprised I didn't end up cuddling Bonnie in my sleep.

I get up and get Scarlett. I change her then we head downstairs to get breakfast.

Once we've had breakfast Caroline appears. She has been to the Boarding house to check on everything.

"The boys didn't trash the place and everything is ready." She says happily. "Now it's time for us to get ready.

I head to my old room and shower. We all spend the next couple of hours getting ready, getting our hair and make up done.

It's finally time to get in our dresses. Mine is a simple white dress. It has spaghetti straps and detailing on the bodice in lace and pearls. The skirt is simple and reaches my ankles. It doesn't have a train - with us getting married outside I didn't want it to end up getting dirty.

My hair is in loose curls with the top bits pinned up with crystal pins.

Jenna, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and Scarlett are all wearing dresses in varying shades of purple. Jeremy is giving me away and Ric is going to officiate the ceremony. Caroline, Bonnie and Elena are my bridesmaids/maids of honour - I couldn't choose just one as my maid of honour. Scarlett is our flower girl, Jenna will carry her since she can't walk yet.

"Are you okay?" Jenna asks me, noticing I was deep in thought.

"I think so. I have butterflies in my tummy." I tell her.

"Nerves?" She asks.

"I don't think so. More like excitement."I reply. She nods in response.

"I have something for you." She says, handing me a small box. "This was your mom's, she was given it on her wedding day by our mom. It's your something old."

I open the box and find a beautiful silver bracelet with pearls.

"It's beautiful, and it matches my dress." I say. Jenna helps me put it on.

Caroline, Elena and Bonnie appear with Scarlett. Caroline hands me another small box, which I open. Inside is a pair of pearl earrings.

"We got you these to go with the bracelet. They're your something new." Caroline says. I put them in and hug everyone.

"Thank you so much." I tell them.

"Next is something borrowed." Bonnie says, handing me another box. Inside is a beautiful hair comb with pearls. Caroline adds into my hair - It's obvious when she styled it that she knew about the comb as she adds it in the perfect place.

"And finally, something blue." Elena says giving me a final box. Inside is a blue garter. I laugh and slip it on.

"Are we all ready girls?" Caroline asks.

"I think so." I tell her.

"Let's go get you married then!" She says with a big smile.

We go out to the cars that will take us to the Boarding house and head over.

* * *

We arrive at the Boarding house and Caroline leads us into the library to wait whilst she checks everything is ready and everyone is in place. Jeremy comes in to join us.

"Wow. You all look beautiful." He tells us.

"Thank you Jer." I say.

"Damon is one lucky Vampire." He tells me. I chuckle.

Caroline reappears.

"Everything is ready, come on." She says, handing me my flower bouquet before giving Jenna a small basket of petals for Scarlett and handing Elena and Bonnie their bouquets. She takes her own and she leads us outside. She nods for the wedding march to start. Jenna heads round the corner with Scarlett, followed by Bonnie, Caroline and then Elena. Jeremy offers me his arm, which I take. The music changes, signalling our turn and we start walking. As we turn the corner I see Damon waiting under the arch for me, with Stefan next to him as his best man. He turns and his mouth drops open. Our eyes lock and in that moment the only person to exist is him. I smile and he smiles in response.

We walk towards him, never breaking eye contact. Once we reach him Jeremy places my hand in Damon's and Elena takes my bouquet.

"You look beautiful." Damon whispers to me.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I reply.

"You ready?" Ric whispers. We both nod.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, the joining of two hearts and to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite this couple in marriage.

Should there be anyone who has cause why Damon and Imogen should not be united in marriage, Shush!"

We hear the chuckles of our guests at Ric.

"Today we have come together to witness the joining of these two lives. For them, out of the routine of ordinary life, the extraordinary has happened. They met each other, fell in love and are finalising it with their wedding. A good marriage must be created. It is never being too old to hold hands. It's remembering to say I love you every day and it is not just marrying the right person its being the right partner.

Now, Damon and Imogen have prepared their own vows. Damon, go ahead."

Damon takes a deep breath and gives my hand a squeeze.

"Imogen, you came into my life when I least expected it. You saved me from myself when I didn't even realise I needed saving.

I love you with all my heart. You are my soulmate and my whole world. I will love you through the good and the bad, through the joy and the sorrow. I will try to be understanding, and to trust in you completely. Together we will face all that comes our way. I promise I will be your equal partner in a loving, honest relationship, for eternity."

"Imogen, your turn." Ric say.

"Damon, you are my life, my soulmate, and I am thankful we found each other. I love you and I always will.

No matter what comes our way, I will always be by your side, I will always choose you. I will love you through the good times and the bad, through the happiness and the sadness. I will accept you as you are, and I will trust in you completely. Together we will face all that comes our way. I promise I will be your equal partner in a loving, honest relationship, for eternity."

"Damon, do you take Imogen to be your wife?"

"I do"

"Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?"

"I do"

Imogen, do you take Damon to be your husband?

"I do"

"Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?"

"I do"

"Wedding rings are an unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this couple in marriage." Ric takes the rings from Stefan.

"Damon, repeat after me: with this ring I am giving you my promise; to always love you, cherish you, honour you and comfort you. I promise that I will love you, and keep my heart open to you all the days of my life."

"Imogen, with this ring I am giving you my promise; to always love you, cherish you, honour you and comfort you. I promise that I will love you, and keep my heart open to you all the days of my life."

"Imogen, repeat after me: with this ring I am giving you my promise; to always love you, cherish you, honour you and comfort you. I promise that I will love you, and keep my heart open to you all the days of my life."

"Damon, with this ring I am giving you my promise; to always love you, cherish you, honour you and comfort you. I promise that I will love you, and keep my heart open to you all the days of my life."

"By the power vested in me by the internet, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss."

Damon gently cups my face and crashes his lips to mine. We kiss for a few seconds before breaking apart, big smiles on our faces. He takes hold of my hand as Elena hands my bouquet back to me.

"I present to you our happy couple, Mr and Mrs Damon Salvatore" Ric says as everyone claps.

We spend the afternoon celebrating with our family and friends. We didn't have a big wedding, besides ourselves and the others involved in the ceremony there was Anna, Mason, Tyler, Matt, Grams, Rose and Bree.

A few hours later Damon comes over, wrapping his arms around me.

"Hey wife." He says with a smile.

"Hey husband." I reply, kissing him gently.

"I have a surprise." He tells me. I give him an inquisitive look. "We're going away for a couple of nights. Jenna and Ric are going to look after Scarlett."

"When did you plan that? I thought we weren't going away until next month." I ask.

He shrugs. "It wasn't right not going anywhere immediately after the wedding, so I made some arrangements. We will still go away next month with Scarlett and we'll have a real honeymoon once things settle down. But for now I thought we could use a few days just us."

"Hmm sounds good." I say.

"Come on. Your bags packed and already in the car, with mine. Let's say our goodbyes and get out of here." He says.

"Who packed my bag?" I ask curiously.

"I did." He replies with a grin.

"Did you pack anything except lingerie?" I ask with a laugh. He just shrugs in response.

"I do need to grab something first though." I say.

"Caroline packed the bag with whatever you bought for tonight, if that is what you were going for." He says.

"It was." I say with a chuckle.

We say our goodbyes and I throw my bouquet. Anna catches it. We climb into Damon's car and head out.

"So where are we going?" I ask.

"It's a surprise." He says with a smile.

* * *

A couple of hours later we pull up to a log cabin. It's remote, nothing for miles around.

"We're here." He tells me.

"You really wanted it to just be the two of us didn't you?" I ask. He nods.

"I just wanted to be able to spend time with my new wife without any interruptions." He tells me.

"Thank you. I can't think of anything better than it being just the two of us right now."

We climb of out the car and head to the cabin. When we get to the door Damon scoops me up and carries me over the threshold. Once inside he puts me down and heads back out to the car for our bags. He also has a cooler with blood bags. He puts the cooler in the kitchen and our bags im the bedroom before coming back to me.

"I've been wanting to do this all day." he murmurs as he wraps his arms around me and crashes his mouth to mine. Things get heated quickly and it doesn't take long for me to push his jacket off his shoulders and undo his tie. He reaches round my back and unzips my dress.

"Let's move this to the bedroom, I don't want out first time as husband and wife to be a quicky in the kitchen." He says against my lips. I nod and he picks me up, vamp speeding us to the bedroom.

He gently lays me down on the bed and kisses down my jaw to my neck. He follows my collar bone and kisses down to the top of my breasts. He slides the straps of the dress off my shoulders before tugging it down and off my body, leaving me in a white lacy strapless bra, matching thong and the blue garter. I kick my shoes off and undo the buttons of his shirt before pushing it off his shoulders and throwing it on the floor.

He kisses every inch of my body, from my fingers to my toes, removing my bra when he reaches my breasts. When he finally reaches my core he removes my thong and gently kisses his way down.

He licks my slit and gently rubs circles on my clit whilst entering me with his tongue. I moan loudly at the sensation.

It doesn't take long before his ministrations bring me to orgasm. He keeps going until I've rode it out completely, then moves back up to kiss my mouth.

"You always taste amazing." He tells me.

I undo his trousers and push them over his hips along with his boxer briefs.

"I need you." I groan. He growls lightly in response and enters me slowly. He starts to thrust in and out slowly, kissing me passionately. It doesn't take long for me to feel the heat of another climax building in my stomach. I look at him and his vampire face is on full show. I let mine change too. He knows without words what I'm asking.

"You sure?" He whispers. I nod and kiss my way down to his neck. I lick over his pulse point before gently sinking my fangs in. I feel him kissing my neck and then he does the same. We both take mouthfuls of the others blood which tips us both over the edge. We both come hard, a feeling that we've only experienced once before washing over us. I'm literally seeing stars from the powerful orgasm and I can feel Damon coming hard inside me too. Once we've rode out our climaxes Damon collapses on top of me. We're both panting hard.

"Wow." He says. I can't speak, so I just nod. We both fall asleep in that position, completely spent from the powerful love making, exhausted but happy.


	35. Find Something I Wanted All Along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone that wanted answers, here you go!

**March 23rd 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Somewhere I Belong; Linkin Park**

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real_

_I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long_

_(Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)_

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real_

_I wanna find something I've wanted all along_

_Somewhere I belong_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake up in our bed at the boarding house for the first time as Mrs Salvatore. I smile to myself, happy to have married my soulmate and thinking over the last few days. We barely left the bed at the cabin. Let's just say if we didn't get pregnant on our wedding night there were plenty of other times it could have happened. I feel like it happened on Saturday night though.

We both had a strange feeling I can't quite describe when we made love for the first time as husband and wife, one that we realised we also felt that night at the party when Scarlett was conceived. We haven't felt it since, despite blood sharing at the same time during sex on several more occasions. Whatever that feeling is, it must be whatever happens that allows us to conceive.

We got home yesterday evening, and went straight to the Gilbert house to pick Scarlett up. We really enjoyed our time together, but we missed our little girl. Damon is rather excited about us having another baby and has already gotten extremely over protective, more so than normal. He says he just suddenly feels it as part of our bond.

"Good morning Mrs Salvatore." He says, kissing my head.

"Good morning Mr Salvatore." I reply, looking up at him and pressing my lips against his.

"When will you be able to take a test so we can find out if you really are pregnant?" He asks.

"A couple of weeks." I say.

"As long as that?" He pouts.

"I'm afraid so, but I'm pretty sure I am." I reply, kissing him again.

"How can you can be so sure?" He asks.

"That feeling we both got Saturday night? We never got it again during any of the many other times we had sex and blood shared over the last few days. And your sudden over protectiveness." I explained.

Damon moved and kissed my stomach.

"If you're in there little one, know we already love you very much." He says to my belly.

I chuckle at him. "You know he or she doesn't have ears yet, right? It's just a ball of cells."

"I know, and I don't care." Damon replies.

"You're such a sap." I reply.

"Mmhmm" he hums "But don't tell anyone." He says, moving up to kiss me slowly.

"And ruin your bad boy reputation? I don't think so." I reply against his lips.

Before things can get heated we hear Scarlett waking up. Damon grins.

"I've missed her." He says, climbing out of bed and pulling on a pair of boxers.

"Me too." I reply, also climbing out of bed and pulling my pyjamas on.

Damon goes to get Scarlett and brings her back to our room.

"Ma-ma, ma-ma." She babbles happily, clapping her hands when she sees me.

"Hi baby girl." I say, taking her from Damon.

She pulls at my top, indicating she wants to breast feed. I pull my top up so she can latch on.

"Will she stop before the baby arrives?" Damon asks me. I shrug.

"I honestly don't know. I'm not going to make her stop, she's still only a baby herself." I reply. He nods.

Once she is finished we get dressed and head downstairs. We're in the kitchen giving Scarlett breakfast when Stefan comes in.

"Hey." He says. It's obvious he has something on his mind.

"Hey Stef." I say with a smile.

"What's up brother? You're brooding harder than usual." Damon says.

Stefan sighs and takes a seat.

"Elijah is in town." He tells us.

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Damon snaps.

"I didn't want to ruin your time away. You know, newlyweds and all." He says with a grimace. I laugh.

"Yeah, well, we were certainly behaving like newlyweds." I tell him.

He groans. "I really don't need to know."

Damon and I both laugh at him.

"So, what does Elijah want?" Damon asks.

"He made a deal with Elena. He wants her to live her life and stop trying to hand herself over to Klaus, and in return he will protect the people she cares about." He tells us.

"That would explain why he killed the vampires at Slater's apartment." I tell Damon. He nods.

"So what does he want?" Damon asks again.

"He wants to kill Klaus." Stefan tells us.

"He seems like he's on our side." I say.

"I don't trust him." Damon says. I roll my eyes.

"You don't trust anyone Damon." I say.

"I trust you." He says with a shrug. "And Stefan." Considering their past, the fact that he now trusts Stefan is huge.

I sigh. "I know you have reason not to trust, but one day you'll learn that not everyone is out to get you."

"It's not me I'm worried about." He says, giving me a pointed look. I roll my eyes and sigh.

"This is going to be a long 9 months." I mutter. Stefan still hears me though.

"9 months. Does that mean..." Stefan says, trailing off.

"We don't know for sure, but let's just say we spent our time away trying. Over and over." Damon says with a smirk.

"Okay, firstly, ewww, I don't need to know. And secondly, I'm going to be an Uncle again?" He says, getting excited.

"We hope so, but please don't tell anyone. We'll tell them when we know for sure." I say. He nods in response then heads out to school.

A little while later we're in the parlour with Scarlett when the doorbell rings. Damon gets up to go answer it. I listen to find out who it is at the door.

"Elijah." I hear Damon say.

"Damon." Elijah replies.

I pick Scarlett up and head to the door with her on my hip. Elijah smiles softly when he sees me.

"Imogen." He says. "And who is this?"

"Scarlett. Our daughter." I tell him. He smiles wider.

"What do you want." Damon asks in a low growl.

"It's okay." I tell him, putting my hand on his arm. I feel him relax under my touch. "He promised me answers. I'm assuming he's here to give them." Elijah nods.

"If you follow the house round to the back yard we can sit out there. I'm sure you can understand why I won't invite you in yet." I tell him.

"Of course. A wise decision." He says, before starting to walk round the house. We go back through the house and meet him outside. Damon takes Scarlett from me and sits her on his lap.

"You have a beautiful daughter." Elijah tells us.

"Thank you." I reply.

"I said I can give you answers, and I can. All I ask is that you know that I'm sorry. Please remember that." He says. I nod in response.

"Around 22 years ago I met a young witch. We fell in love, but she never told her parents. They would never have approved of me as I'm not only a Vampire, but an original vampire." He starts.

My eyes widen at what I think he might be saying. "What was her name?"

Elijah looks me straight in the eye. "Sophia. Sophia Jacobs." He tells me quietly.

"My Mom." I whisper. He nods in response.

"We dated in secret for a little while before we took things further. We didn't know it at the time but we're soulmates, like you and Damon are. We didn't realise it was possible for her to get pregnant due to me being a Vampire. When it happened we were both shocked.

Sophia kept the pregnancy hidden as much as possible, but her mother, Sarah, eventually found out. She was not happy at all and insisted you be adopted. Sophia couldn't tell her that she had been dating a Vampire as her whole family hated us, so she had no choice but to allow the adoption. You look very much like your mother."

"You're my father?" I whisper, tears in my eyes. Elijah nods in response and Damon takes my hand and gives it a squeeze.

"How could you let me be adopted? Didn't you want me? What is an original Vampire? Why are you talking about my mother in the present tense when she died when I was a baby?" I fire off the questions.

"You're very observant." Elijah replies with a soft chuckle. "I let you be adopted for two reasons. Firstly, had Sarah found out about me she would have attempted to kill me. That would have hurt Sophia. I'm sure you understand how protective soulmates are of each other."

Damon and I both nod in response.

"Secondly, it kept you safe. Your adoptive parents kept the first name Sophia and I had given you, but you were given the Gilbert surname. It made it harder for people to realise you were a Jacobs, keeping you hidden from those that seek out Jacobs witches because of their power. Klaus is one of those people."

"That name again." I groan.

"Yes. He wants the doppelganger for the sacrifice and he wants a Jacobs witch on his side as it thinks it will make him very powerful. He heard about your mother and wanted her for himself."

"Klaus sounds like a dick. There is no way he is getting my wife." Damon says.

"He wasn't always that way. Our father abused him which made him what he is today."

"Our father? You mean Klaus is your brother? My Uncle?" I gasp.

"Yes. I believe the phrase you're looking for is OMG."

"I think that is far too polite. I was thinking more along the lines of what the fuck." I say.

Elijah raises his eyebrow at me and goes to speak. I cut him off.

"Don't even think about chastising me for swearing. I'm an adult, I'm married. You can't tell me what language to use."

"I was simply going to say that is also an appropriate phrase." Elijah says with a chuckle. "To continue answering your questions. An original vampire is exactly that - our family were turned into Vampires by our mother after my youngest brother, Henrik, passed away after sneaking out to see the werewolves in our village one full moon. It is from us that all vampires are descended. We are also considerably harder to kill, as you have discovered." Elijah says looking at Damon pointedly.

"We thought you were a threat." Damon shrugs.

"Understandable. And admirable. You will protect your family, as would I." Elijah says.

"Except you want Klaus dead, at least that's what my brother tells me." Damon says.

"Yes, you are correct. Which brings me to the answer for another of Imogen's questions. There are two reasons I want Klaus dead. One, he daggered our other siblings and threw their coffins in the ocean. Secondly he was after my mate for his own gain."

"Other siblings?" I ask.

"Yes. Rebekah, Kol and Finn. Your Aunt and other Uncles." Elijah tells me.

"I have a whole family I never knew existed." I say sadly.

"I am sorry, but it was for the best. We kept an eye on you over the years though. You grew up happy with the Gilberts." He says.

I nod. "I did grow up happy, you're right. Who is we?"

Elijah takes a deep breath, as though he's stealing for the next part of the conversation.

"Your mother and I." He says.

"My mother? But she died in a car crash." I exclaim.

"She did, you're right. I'm sure you both know that blood sharing is a big part of the soulmate bond?" He asks.

"Well I didn't know it was part of the bond, but we do it daily." I say.

"It is part of the bond. A blood bond can form anyway, but the soulmate bond gives you a nudge to do it. Your mother and I also blood share daily." He says.

I stare at him for a few seconds, gobsmacked at what I've just realised.

"She didn't die. She transitioned." I state. Elijah nods.

"Yes, she did. With Klaus after her though we decided it best to let the world think she died."

"This is all so much to take in." I say quietly.

"There is much more to tell you. About who you are and your abilities. If you would prefer we can resume this conversation another day?" Elijah says.

I take a deep breath. "No, just tell us everything." I say. He nods.

"As you are my daughter, you are an original hybrid. That means that if you die you will come back as an original vampire. That would mean that only one thing could kill you."

"What's that?" I ask.

"The wood of the white oak tree that mother called upon for the spell she used to turn us. The only one in existence was burned a thousand years ago." He explains.

"Would it be the same for Scarlett?" I ask.

"Yes, and other children you have. Once they die the first time they would also become original vampires. A werewolf bite isn't fatal to us, though it can make us pretty sick, and we can compel other Vampires."

"We heard about that. We've been taking vervain as a precaution." Damon says.

"A wise move, however you two don't need to take it to prevent compulsion." Elijah says. I raise my eyebrow at him.

"As a hybrid you cannot be compelled, not even by an original."

"But I've been compelled. Twice." I say.

"By Damon?" He asks, smirking knowingly.

"Yeah." I reply.

"Damon is the only one who can compel you, and you can compel him. As soulmates your traits become each others." He tells us.

"So Damon can't be compelled because I can't be?" I ask. Elijah nods.

"And If you die and become an original, he too will only be able to die by white oak." I can't help but think that would be a good thing.

"Does the same go for personality traits?" Damon asks.

"Yes it does." Elijah replies.

"That explains why I'm less murderous than I used to be." Damon scoffs. I chuckle at him.

"According to a book I was given, Jacobs witches keep their powers if they die, is that true? Did that happen with Sophia?" I ask.

"It did." He tells us.

"Would I be able to meet her?" I ask.

"Of course. She's not currently in Mystic Falls, but when she arrives we can arrange a meeting."

"Thank you." I say.

"I think I have told you enough for one day. I will leave to process everything you have learned today." He says standing up.

"Thank you. It's definitely a lot to take in." I say with a sigh.

"One last thing. Please know that as my daughter I will not allow any harm to come to you or your family and friends."

"I appreciate that, thank you.

We say our goodbyes and Elijah leaves. Damon and I head in with Scarlett to put her down for a nap.

"Do you believe him? Damon asks.

"I do. I could feel the sincerity in everything he said.

Damon just nods.

We spend the rest of the day as a family, spending time with Scarlett, who we missed greatly whilst away.

Once she is in bed we head to our room.

"Are you okay?" Damon asks.

"I don't really know." I reply. He hugs me to him and kisses my head.

"It must be a big shock, not only finding out who your father is, but that your mother faked her own death." He says softly.

"It is. I know Elijah said that part of the reason he allowed me to be adopted was to keep me safe, but surely as an original he could have done that? I just can't help but be a little angry with them both. But then I'm pleased that they are alive and now want to be part of my life." I say.

"I know. I will be here by your side no matter what." He tells me.

"Thank you. I am happy about the compulsion though, and the fact that if I die I will come back as an original and you would be too." I tell him.

"Yeah, me too." He says.

"We talk for a little while longer, before finally falling asleep.


	36. Every Wound Will Shape Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sorry it's been longer than usual between chapters. I've been busy with Christmas preparations.
> 
> Because of things that have been changed in past chapters, there are things that now won't happen, such as Jules biting Rose etc. Moving forwards this story is probably going to be following the show less, but there will still be the main events happening, such as Klaus, the sacrifice, Damon's bite etc. This chapter covers 3 episodes of season 2. Klaus will be here before we know it.
> 
> Thank you for your comments and kudos. They keep us writers motivated!

**March 24th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Throne; Bring Me The Horizon**

_So you can throw me to the wolves_

_Tomorrow I will come back_

_Leader of the whole pack_

_Beat me black and blue_

_Every wound will shape me_

_Every scar will build my throne_

**Imogen's POV**

The next morning my head is still spinning with the information Elijah gave us. He is my Dad and my Mom is still alive. I'm still unsure what to think of that and the fact I was adopted. I also think there is more that Elijah has to tell us, but I was getting overwhelmed yesterday and I think he could see that.

I look up at my sleeping husband from where my head is laid on his chest. He always looks so innocent when he's asleep. I think about how much my life has changed since he came into it, and I truly wouldn't have it any other way.

I have a sudden thought: Damon can control crows, and he can also make fog happen. We know those gifts are to do with him being descended from a powerful witch. I make a mental note to ask Elijah if he knows anything about that and what other gifts or powers Damon may have.

"You're thinking too hard for this time of the morning." I hear him mumbling into my hair.

"I thought you were still asleep." I reply.

"I was, but I can feel the tension in you." he replies, opening his eyes to look at me.

"I'm sorry." I tell him.

He kisses my head and tightens his arms around me. "Don't be, you have a lot to consider."

"I get the feeling Elijah hasn't told us everything." I say.

"Me too. I don't think he's hiding anything on purpose though. I think he stopped so you can process what he said before he tells you more."

"That's what I thought. I know he explained the reasons why he let me be adopted, and they do make sense, but I can't help but feel somewhat abandoned by them. I knew nothing of what I am, we've had to figure it out by ourselves with the help of the books Bree gave me. Surely they could have found a way to let me know?"

"Someone obviously wanted to let you know. Didn't Bree say that a Jacobs witch left her the grimoires as she had a vision you would go there needing help?" Damon asks.

"You're right, she did. I wonder if Elijah or Sophia know anything about that." I say.

"I think you need to have another conversation with Elijah." He replies. I hum in response.

* * *

A while later we're down in the parlour with Scarlett when Elena comes in.

"Stefan went to see Katherine yesterday. She told him to contact Isobel so he's gone to do exactly that. He thinks she'll give us answers." Elena tells us.

"And you don't agree?" I ask.

"I think it will upset Elijah." She replies.

"It might, and I don't know what answers she can give that Elijah can't give us." I say.

"What makes you think Elijah will give us answers?" She asks. Damon rubs my back gently in support.

"Because he's my Dad." I tell her.

"He's what? How do you know?" She asks.

"He came by yesterday, we talked. We already worked out I'm half vampire. Turns out he and Sophia are soulmates and I'm the result of them not knowing soulmates could have children." I say with a sigh.

"Wait, so he's an original and he let you be adopted?" Elena asks. I just look at her sadly.

"He said it was to keep her safe, so her being a Jacobs witch would be less obvious." Damon says with a shrug.

"I guess it kind of worked, I mean no one knew you were a witch until you two went to Atlanta to see Damon's witch friend." Elena replies.

"I do get it, but I'm also upset that they did it. I had no idea who or what I was. We've had to work it out ourselves between Bree telling me I'm a witch and Mason telling me I smelt like a vampire." I say. Elena nods in response.

"Talking of Mason, I've not seen him in a few days." Elena says.

"He moved back to the Lockwood's. He's safe now Katherine is on the tomb. He's helping Tyler prepare for his first full moon." Damon tells her.

"I still can't believe he triggered the curse." Elena sighs. "Anyway, try and talk to Stefan."

"I'll try, but you know what my baby bro can be like." Damon replies.

"I know." Elena says with a sigh. "See you later." She leaves after kissing Scarlett on the head.

I lean back on the couch and sigh. Damon sits next to me, wrapping his arms around me, his hand gently rubbing my tummy.

"4 days we've been married. 4 days. I know our lives are always going to be chaotic, but really! 4 days!" I exclaim.

"I know Imz. I know." Damon sighs. "You smell slightly different today."

"Huh? How so?"

"Usually you smell of vanilla and berries. But today there's a tiny hint of something else. I can't describe it though."

"Wierd." I say.

He rubs my tummy again. "You think it could be due to the little one in here?"

"It's possible I guess, my hormones will change. Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster." I reply. He nods and kisses me softly.

He suddenly stands up. He holds out his hand to pull me up. I look at him questioningly.

"We're going out, we'll spend the day as a normal family, and we'll forget the shit storm that is our lives for the day. Just the four of us, no one else." He says determinedly.

"Sounds good. And where are we going?" I ask. He thinks for a moment before replying.

"The zoo. It's a normal thing to do as a family, right?" He replies.

"It is. Scarlett will love seeing the animals." I say.

With that we get ready and head out to the cars. Damon starts towards his Camaro and I laugh.

"Do you think normal families turn up in a vintage convertible sports car they've owned since new?" I say with a laugh.

"Probably not." He replies, eyes dancing with laughter. "We can be a bit different though, can't we?"

"Sure we can. Enjoy it because if we ever have a third it will be my SUV only, you'd never get 3 car seats in there." I tell him. He pouts and takes Scarlett from me, getting her secured in her car seat in the back of the car. I climb in the passenger seat and we head to the zoo.

* * *

We're home after a great day out. It was so good to forget our supernatural drama for a while. Scarlett loved the animals, and it was amazing to see her so excited.

I've just put Scarlett to bed when my phone beeps with a message.

_**Stefan called Isobel, and ended up bringing Uncle John back xo ~Elena** _

I groan and run my hand down my face as I walk into our bedroom.

"What's the matter?" Damon asks me.

"Stefan brought Uncle John back to town." I groan.

"What's he going to do?" Damon asks.

"Aside from be a dick? I don't know. I don't get why Stefan thinks he knows anything and can help save Elena." I tell him, exasperated.

"Come here." He says, patting the bed next to him. I climb into his arms and inhale his scent to calm me down.

"We'll work it out." He says, kissing me. It soon turns heated. I pull away and look him in the eyes.

"You know, when I was pregnant with Scarlett I was horny all the time." I tell him.

"Bring it on" He replies with a smirk before capturing my lips with his again.

We spend the next couple of hours making love and blood sharing before we eventually fall asleep, our bodies tangled together, both sated and happy.

* * *

**March 25th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Damon's POV**

I wake up with Imogen laid on my chest and our legs tangled together. I smile to myself as I remember last night. I can never get enough of her. I have never been happier than I've been since she came into my life, and I swear I was the happiest man alive when we got married and having another baby was the icing on the cake so to speak.

I've vowed to myself not to miss a second of this pregnancy. I feel guilty for missing it all with Scarlett so I'm determined to make it up to her this time.

I hear Stefan moving around his room and remember that he brought John Gilbert back to town. Imogen doesn't like him, and neither do I. Plus I don't see what help he can be when we'll hopefully get answers from Elijah. I decide I need to talk to my little brother and untangle myself from Imogen and climb out of bed. She stirs as I do.

"Shhh, go back to sleep. I'm just going to talk to Stefan." I tell her.

"Mmmkay" She mumbles at me. I smile and kiss her head. I absolutely love this woman with all my heart. I toss some jeans and a black v neck sweater on and make my way to Stefan's room.

"You brought back John Gilbert? That was your big 'Save Elena' move?" I say to him as I walk in, irritated.

"I went to go look for Isobel, and I got John instead. He said he can help us, and we're desperate." Stefan replies.

"We're not that desperate, Stefan. The guy would have barbecued us all! Imogen hates him and she doesn't need any additional stress right now!" I exclaim, reminding Stefan of John's plan for Founder's Day, that Imogen hates him and is very likely pregnant.

"Damon, Bonnie's new witch friend is working with Elijah, so we have to assume that the moonstone was never destroyed . Elena is putting all of her faith into some deal that she made with Elijah to keep everyone safe. I mean, do you trust Elijah? I don't trust him. He's an Original, he can't be trusted. It's not like we can just go up and kill him, because apparently, he can't die!" Stefan says. I forgot we haven't filled him in on Elijah's revelations from the other day, and it appears Elena hasn't either.

"John Gilbert is not the answer. And yes, I trust Elijah." I retort.

"John knew about the sacrifice, Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Elena safe. Why do you, of all people, trust Elijah?" Stefan asks.

I sigh. "He's Imogen's Father. And he's forgiven me for killing him. Said he understands I was protecting Imogen and her family." I tell him. "What's John's big plan?"

"He's her Father? How do you know? John's not talking. At least not to me anyway." Stefan replies. I roll my eyes.

"He told us. He knew all about her Mother. She's half Vampire. You know how she can sense if people are lying? She can tell he was telling the truth. Great work on John, Stefan. Top notch. As if I didn't have enough problems. I'm trying to keep as much stress away from Imogen as possible, and you're not helping." I tell him and start to leave.

"Hey, I'm sorry." He calls after me.

"Whatever." I reply and head back to my room and my beautiful wife. When I walk in she's sat up in bed, just finishing up on the phone.

"That was Elena." She sighs. "John is trying to cause trouble already. He told Jenna that he's Elena's Dad. He didn't know she's already been clued in on everything."

"I'll talk to him." I tell her, kissing her head.

"I love you." She tells me.

"I love you too." I reply.

"I'm going shopping with Care today. Can you drop Scarlett off with Jenna for me if you're going over there anyway? She said she would look after her." She asks.

"Of course." I reply. "Have fun with Caroline and don't forget to get something sexy." I tell her. She rolls her eyes at me.

"There's that one track mind again." She says with a chuckle.

"I'm obsessed with you, what can I say?" I reply with a shrug before heading to Scarlett's room as I can hear her stirring.

"Good morning beautiful." I coo, picking her up from her crib.

"Da-Da." She exclaims happily. I can't even describe the love I have for this little girl and her Mom, and our new little one even though it's only been a few days and it's not even confirmed yet. I'm taking the additional protectiveness I feel and the new hint of a scent I can smell on my wife as confirmation though.

"Come on baby girl, let's get you ready to go see Aunt Jenna." I say with a smile. I get her changed and head into our room where Imogen has just finished getting ready.

"Ma-Ma." Scarlett says, smiling.

"Hi you." Imogen replies, taking her from me. She gives her a cuddle and feeds her. Once she's done I take her back so we can head to the Gilbert house whilst Imogen goes to meet Caroline.

"Have fun with Care. We love you." I tell Imogen, giving her a kiss goodbye.

"I love you both too." She replies.

I head downstairs to my car, get Scarlett settled in and head to the Gilbert house.

* * *

I arrive at the Gilbert house and knock on the door. Jenna answers.

"Hey Damon, Scarlett." She says with a grin.

"Hey Jenna." I reply with a smile.

"Come on in." She replies, leading me into the kitchen.

"Imogen asked me to drop Scarlett off for her. I hear John is back and trying to cause problems." I say.

"Yep" Jenna replies. "Thought I didn't know that he's Elena's Dad, but thanks to Imogen insisting we're all kept in the loop he got a shock when I told him I knew. Apparently Stefan thinks he's telling the truth about him wanting to help but I don't believe him."

"Neither do I, and I know Imogen doesn't either. Did Imogen tell you about Elijah?" I say.

"She did, she told me over the phone. I can't believe he's her Dad and an Original vampire." Jenna says.

"I know. It's been a lot for her to take in. That and her Mom being alive."

"I bet. That's why Caroline's taking her shopping, to take her mind off it all and cheer her up." Jenna explains.

"I know, she's a good friend to her." I reply with a smile.

I hand Scarlett over to Jenna along with her diaper bag. "Don't suppose John is here is he?"

"Nope. He left after realising his attempts to cause trouble were futile. What are you going to do?" Jenna asks.

"I'm gonna talk to him. Imogen isn't happy he's back in town and doesn't want him near her." I explain.

"Try not to kill him." Jenna says.

"I'm not promising anything." I reply. She chuckles in response.

"Just don't get caught." She says.

"I never do." I reply with a wink.

Elena appears at that moment.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" She asks.

"Dropping Scarlett off and talking about how we don't trust John." I reply.

"I don't trust him either. I really don't believe he's here to help me." Elena says.

"Me neither." I reply, turning to leave.

"What are we going to do?" Elena asks.

"I'm going to talk to him." I say.

"I'm coming with you." She says. I roll my eyes at Jenna and kiss Scarlett.

"Bye you two." I say, and leave with Elena following behind.

* * *

We look in various places trying to find John before heading to try the Grill. We arrive and find John standing by the booth that Jenna, Ric and Scarlett are sat in. We give them a wave and head over.

"John, buddy, how have you been?" I say with a fake smile.

"I've been all right, Damon. It's good to see you." John replies, equally fake before walking off. Elena joins Jenna, Ric and Scarlett whilst I go after John to talk to him.

"So, John. Rumour has it that you know a lot, and won't say anything." I say.

"How do I know you can be trusted, Damon? Originals can compel vampires." he replies.

"Stefan and I, are chock full of vervain." I tell him. I don't want to reveal Elijah's relationship to Imogen as he'll never trust me.

"You guys are drinking vervain?" He asks.

"It's an acquired taste. I don't see that magic little ring on your stitched finger, so if you know something about Klaus, you better start talking, or I will kill you in your sleep." I tell him.

"Is that any way to convince me that you and I are on the same side? First, I need to know that I can trust you, Damon, that I can count on you. Then we'll talk." He says, walking off. I head to the bar to get a drink. Whilst I'm sitting there a lady I recognise from the news on TV approaches me.

"Hi, can I buy you a drink?" She asks me.

"My glass is all full. Married man." I say, waving my left hand at her so she can see my wedding ring. I grab my glass and head back to Elena.

"You didn't have to be so rude to her." She says. I roll my eyes as her phone rings. I see that it's Stefan. My phone rings and I see that it's Mason.

"Mason." I say, answering the phone.

"Damon. We have a problem." He tells me.

"What's up?" I ask.

"The werewolf pack I was with in Florida are pissed I didn't go back and stayed here. They found out I'm friendly with Vampires and are looking for revenge." He tells me.

"Great. Another problem on an already long list." I sigh.

"Sorry buddy. Just wanted to warn you." he says.

"I appreciate it. We'll keep alert." I say, ending the call. I see Elena has finished too. She drags me to the bathroom of the Grill.

"Elena, I'm married to your sister." I say jokingly.

"This is not the time to joke Damon. Stefan says some werewolf called Jules has got Caroline and Imogen." she replies. As soon as she says that I feel my anger soaring. How dare they kidnap my pregnant wife. I growl at the thought of anything happening to her.

"Did he say where they are?" I ask.

"Clearing by Wickery Falls." She replies. At that moment John comes in.

"Do you mind?" I snap at him.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"Nothing." Elena tells him.

"It doesn't look like nothing." John replies.

"Well guess what John, trust works both ways. Get out." I growl at him.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get Imogen and Caroline back." Elena says.

"We don't need to do anything. I'll take care of it." I tell her, before turning to John. "First dad duty: ground your daughter. Keep her here."

I leave the grill and head to the falls, calling Mason on the way to let him know. As I get closer I can feel she's in danger.

_"I'm on my way."_ I think to her.

"Damon, it hurts." she replies.

_"I'm going to kill them. If anything happens to you or our baby I will make them all suffer."_

_"I managed a protection spell on the baby, he or she will be fine."_

I sigh a little in relief. I arrive at the clearing to find Stefan already there, trying to do things peacefully.

"My brother the peacemaker. Since Stefan got here before me I'm gonna let him try it his way before I resort to my way, which is a little bloodier. So give us my wife and Caroline." I growl out.

"You turned Mason against his pack." The woman I believe to be Jules says. Mason enters the clearing.

"He didn't turn me against you. Our mutual hate of Katherine Pierce made us friends and I stuck around to help my new friends and nephew." He says to her.

"Give us Imogen and Caroline. Without a full moon it's not an even fight and you know it. We will take you." I growl out. I'm itching to make them pay for hurting my wife and her friend.

"I'm not so sure about that, tough guy." The bitch replies. She whistles and the rest of the pack appear, all holding weapons.

"Let's try this again. Mason, come back to the pack."

I look at Mason and shake my head slightly, indicating he doesn't need to do as she says and we will fight.

"I've told you, I'm not coming back." Mason says.

"Boys, make sure that one suffers." Jules says pointing at me. I roll my eyes, you'd think I'd be used to getting blamed for everything.

"We can take them." I say, glancing between Mason and Stefan.

"I don't know about that." Stefan replies.

"Well then..." I say before rushing over towards Jules. She flips up on top of the RV before I can get to her. I see one of them attempt to burn Stefan with a flame thrower but he takes it from him and burns two werewolves instead. I feel proud of him in that moment. I see Mason knock a couple out and head into the RV to get Imogen and Caroline.

A werewolf tries to jump on me from the top of the RV but I rip his heart out before he can even land. I see Stefan rip the heart of another werewolf and catch a stake that was fired at him. He uses the stake to stab another werewolf, and catches an arrow that is shot at him, before throwing it back into the werewolf's neck that fired it at him. As he's distracted he gets stabbed in the back. He collapses on the ground.

I'm fighting with a particularly strong one, Brady I heard the bitch call him. I see Mason leave the RV with Imogen and Caroline. I manage to get Brady on the ground and am about to rip his heart out when Jules shoots me in the shoulder, taking me down, then shooting Caroline and Mason. I then see her grab Imogen and put the gun to her back, just as Brady gets up and goes to stake me.

"Damon!" I hear Imogen scream. The pain in her voice breaks my heart.

Suddenly all the werewolves begin to scream in pain covering their ears and falling to the ground.

"What's happening?" Caroline asks.

We see Jonas appear. He must be taking them out with a spell. I drag myself up and over to Imogen, wrapping her in my arms.

"It's okay. It's over." I whisper to her as holds on to me tightly.

"Elijah made a promise to Imogen and Elena. I'm here to see it's upheld. You need to go. Get out of here. Now." Jonas tells us. I nod in response.

Imogen and I help Mason up, and Stefan helps Caroline. We leave. When we are far enough away we stop.

"Are you okay?" I ask Imogen.

"Got a couple wooden bullets in my leg that need to come out." She replies.

"I've got one in my shoulder." I reply. "What about you three?" I ask the others.

"I got my bullets out." Caroline tells me. "I just need blood."

"I'm okay, the bullet is out and I'm healing." Mason replies.

"I'm healing." Stefan says.

"Stefan, take Caroline home. Could you pick Scarlett up from Elena's? Mason, you good?"

"Yeh I'm good." Mason replies and heads off.

"I'll get Scarlett for you. We'll see you later." Stefan tells us and leaves with Caroline.

Imogen and I head home. Once there I remove the bullets from her leg and she gets the one from my shoulder. I grab us some blood bags and we head upstairs to shower and change.

"Are you both okay?" I say when we reach our room, wrapping my arms around her and resting a hand on her tummy.

"We're fine. Bit sore but I'm healing." She tells me.

"I was so scared of losing you both." I say.

"Hey" she says, cupping my face. "We're all okay. You don't need to worry. How did Jonas know we needed help?"

"Stefan told Elena, I bet she told Elijah you and Caroline were kidnapped." I tell her.

"At least we know he meant it when he promised us none of us would be hurt." She tells me.

"Yes, we certainly do." I reply.

I'm about to lead her into the shower when the doorbell rings. I groan and head downstairs to answer it. I open the door to reveal John Gilbert.

"What do you want?" I groan.

"We didn't finish our conversation." John tells me.

I sigh. "I'll bite." I reluctantly let him in.

"I've been thinking. Personal feelings aside Damon, I think you and Stefan will do all you can to protect Elena." He says.

"I agree with that statement. Stefan is in love with her and I'm married to her sister."

"So I come bearing gifts." He says, opening up a folded cloth to reveal a dagger and small bottle of ash.

"What is that?" I ask.

"This is how you kill an Original. In this vial is ash from a white oak tree that dates back to the genesis of the Originals. The dagger must be dipped into the ash, and then plugged into their heart." He tells me. He doesn't know Elijah is Imogen's father or there is no way he would be giving me this. I take the dagger to have a closer look.

"How do you know all this, John?" I ask.

"Isobel. She's very good at finding out things. But, of course, you know that." he explains.

"Where is Isobel?"

"Let's just say if she accomplishes what she's attempting, Klaus will never set foot in Mystic Falls. Where Elena's concerned, we're all on the same side." He says before he leaves.

I pour myself a bourbon and down it quickly, just as Stefan comes in with Scarlett.

"I took Elena and Bonnie to Caroline's for a sleepover so she's not alone." Stefan tells me as he hands a sleeping Scarlett over.

"I'll let Imogen know. She'll be pleased she's not alone." I tell him. He nods in response and heads upstairs. I follow him and put Scarlett to bed, then head back to our room.

I find my wife quietly crying on the bed. I go over and wrap my arms around her. I let her cry until she slowly calms down and stops.

"Come on, we're going to take a bath." I tell her. I gently pull her off the bed and into the bathroom. I sit her on the counter whilst I run the bath, adding bubbles. Once it is ready I help her out of her clothes and into the bath, before stripping and climbing in behind her. She leans back against me and I wrap my arms around her so both hands are resting on her tummy.

"Stefan took Elena and Bonnie to Caroline's so she's not alone." I tell her.

"That's good." She replies.

I wash us both and once we're finished we get out of the bath, dry off and head to bed.

"Who was at the door?" She asks me.

"John." I reply with a sigh.

"What did he want?"

"He gave me a weapon to kill an Original. A dagger and some ash." I tell her.

"You're not going to kill Elijah." She says.

"No, I'm not." I reply.

She wraps herself around me, nuzzling my neck to catch my scent. I hold her tightly and nuzzle her so I can breathe in her scent. We both fall asleep, our scents calming each other down.


	37. Sometimes You Think You Know It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the wait. Been busy this week again, but I now have 2 weeks off work and school runs. A massive thank you for your comments, especially MageVicky who has commented on every chapter!

**March 30th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia.**

**Song: Whiplash Pants; Stone Sour**

_Sometimes you think you know it all_

_Until you find you never knew a thing (never knew a thing)_

_You never knew a thing (never knew a thing)_

_Just when you think you have it all_

_Then you find you never had a thing (never had a thing)_

_You see the door but you leave with nothing_

**Imogen's POV**

It's been a few days since Caroline and I were kidnapped and tortured by the werewolves. I'm starting to feel more like myself again at last. Damon has been worried about me and has spent the last few days glued to my side trying to help me deal with what happened. I can honestly say that whilst being tortured was in no way fun, the worst part was when Damon was nearly staked. My heart literally broke in that moment, and Damon also felt it through our bond. We knew our bond was strong and that it would be a struggle to survive if one of us dies, but that really brought it home.

I've dropped out of college. I didn't see the point in carrying on when our lives have so much drama in them, and I now know I will have all the time I need to go to college in the future. We've moved Scarlett to a new daycare since the one she was in was only for students at the college and she's settling in well.

Rose left to join Lexi and Lee. They're going to do some travelling, since they now all have daylight rings and can explore places in the day. Tyler went through his first transformation and he and Mason were both locked in the Lockwood cellar, true to Mason's word that he would make sure no one was harmed or nearly harmed this time. This confirmed to Damon what I already knew; Mason can be trusted and is on our side. He's also seriously pissed off that the pack from Florida had the nerve to come here and demand he go back to them, like they own him, and even more pissed off about what they did to Caroline and I.

Stefan and Elena have gone to the lake house for a few days, they too needed a break from the supernatural drama. Anna has been sneaking into Jeremy's room most nights so we've had a lot of time to ourselves. I've discovered that for a big bad vampire, my husband has quite the thing for bubble baths. He says he's been dragging me in to one every night to relax and pamper me, but I'm pretty sure the real reason is because he loves them himself.

We've not heard from or seen Elijah since the day he came to talk to us. I think it's to give me time to process the things he told us, but I have more questions now, plus we need to tell him about the dagger John gave us. Jenna guilt tripped me into going to the Historical Society High Tea later today. Damon is coming with me, Scarlett will be in daycare. Elijah is meant to be there so hopefully we can talk to him, or at least arrange some other time to do so.

We're currently laid in bed, Damon is spooning me with one hand on my tummy. He's still sleeping so I'm just lying here enjoying the closeness and the quiet before another day of our crazy lives starts. I rest my hand over his on my stomach, in only a few more days we will hopefully know for sure if we're having another baby or not.

I feel Damon's hold on me tighten slightly and he presses a kiss to my head.

"Good morning beautiful wife." he murmurs to me.

"Good morning sexy husband." I reply, turning over to kiss him on the lips.

"We should probably think about moving and getting Scarlett to daycare so we can get to this historical society thing." Damon grumbles .

"I guess we should." I reply with a groan. Damon kisses me again and then climbs out of bed. I follow him and we both get ready for the day. Scarlett wakes not long after so we get her ready and head downstairs. Once we've given her breakfast we drop her off at daycare and head to the Lockwood mansion.

We arrive and head inside. We see Carol talking to Elijah and head over.

"Carol." Damon says.

"Damon, Imogen!" she exclaims before turning to Elijah. "Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore and his wife Imogen. Both of their families are part of Mystic Falls' founding famiies; Imogen is a Gilbert, though she's now a Salvatore."

"We've already met." I tell Carol with a smile.

We make small talk for a while before wandering off.

A little while later we catch Elijah's eye and Damon nods towards the study. We head in and he follows us.

"What can I do for you both?" He asks.

"I get the feeling there is more than you told us the other day." I say.

He nods. "You're right, there is. I could see you were getting quite overwhelmed so I thought it best to wait before giving you more information."

I nod in response.

"Where's Elena?" He asks.

"Safe with Stefan. They're laying low, you know, bit of a werewolf problem." Damon says.

"I heard about that. Are you okay?" Elijah asks me.

"I am now. It took a while as Damon was nearly staked. If it wasn't for your witch..." I say, trailing off with tears in my eyes. Damon pulls me into his arms and kisses my head. I wrap my arms round his waist and bury my head in his shoulder.

"The thought of losing your mate hits hard." Elijah says knowingly.

"It has definitely hit her hard." Damon tells him.

Elijah gives us a sad smile. "We can't really talk here. Can we go to your house?" He asks. Damon looks down at me knowing I will have to be the one to invite him in and key him into the boundary spell.

"Sure. I think you've proven we can trust you." I say.

We leave the Lockwood's and head to the boarding house. Elijah stops at the door as we enter. I grab the talisman and go to stand in front of him.

"Elijah, please come in." I say. He tries and still can't enter. I give him a small smile.

"Double protection, in case anything happens to me. Can you put a few drops of blood on this?" I ask.

"Of course." He replies, nicking his finger on his fang and dropping the blood onto the talisman. I murmur the words of the spell.

"You'll be able to come in now." I say, and step back. He steps over the threshold.

"Boundary spell, bound by a talisman. You are a clever and powerful witch." Elijah says with a nod.

"I've worked with Shiela Bennett some, and read all the Jacobs grimoires a witch called Bree gave me.

We lead him into the parlour and we sit.

"First thing, before you tell us anything else, is John Gilbert gave me something. He claims it can kill an Original." Damon tells him. He gets up and grabs the cloth that holds the dagger and vial of white oak ash and hands it to Elijah.

He unwraps the cloth and raises his eyebrows when he sees what is inside.

"This does kill us, but only whilst the dagger remains in place. How did he get it?" He asks.

"Elena's birth Mom, Isobel, is heavily interested in the supernatural. She researched everything and was employed at Duke. She found Damon after John told her about him and begged him to turn her. She knew Elena was the doppelganger and she knows Katherine. I'm guessing she found out about it and gave it to John." I tell him.

"She could be a problem, especially if she keeps digging into things that she really should leave well alone." Elijah says.

"Her humanity is off, she's not a nice woman. I thought I was bad but her..." Damon says with a shudder.

"We'll keep an eye on her. Was your switch off when you met my Daughter?" Elijah asks.

Damon nods. "Had been for 50 years."

"And seeing her turned it back on." He states knowingly.

Damon nods. "Our eyes met across a room and in that moment it flipped back on."

Elijah smiles and gives a small nod. "Your bond is a very powerful one."

"We've been told that by several people." I tell him.

"It's true, I don't think I've come across one as powerful and I've seen a few in my time." Elijah replies.

"So, what else can you tell us?" I ask.

"I can tell you that as my Daughter you are descended from the Original witch, who was very powerful. As a result of that, along with you being a Jacobs, you are one of the most powerful witches ever known." He tells us.

"What do you know about Silas?" Damon asks.

Elijah's eyebrows shoot up. "Not as much as my brother, Kol, but I know he was one of the two first immortals some 2000 years ago, and he was an extremely powerful witch. Why do you ask?"

"A witch told me that because I'm descended from him I have powers as a Vampire that others don't. I know I can control birds, I usually use crows. Not tried it on other animals. I can also call fog on demand." Damon tells him.

Elijah's eyes widen. "Those are definitely not usual vampire tricks."

"She said I will be able to do other things, but wasn't sure what. I was wondering if you knew anything?" He says.

"I read something once. I believe I have the book with me." Elijah says. He looks at his watch.

"Your mother is arriving this afternoon. I should go and pick her up from the airport, however I would like to return later with her and the book I believe will help Damon." He says to me.

I nod. "I think I would like to meet her." I say.

"She is looking forward to seeing you. She can help with your magical training too." He tells me.

"I'd like that." I reply.

"I will leave you the dagger and white oak ash as a sign of trust." He tells us.

"Thank you." I reply.

He leaves and we both flop back on the sofa.

"I think I will ask Anna and Jeremy to pick Scarlett up from daycare and take her to the Gilbert house so we can go through everything without interruption." I say to Damon.

"Okay. That's probably wise." He replies.

I send Anna a text message and she quickly replies agreeing to pick her up. Ric stops by to visit and we tell him about the dagger whilst he and Damon drink whisky. I'm pretty sure if my husband wasn't a Vampire he would be an alcoholic.

"So John gave you a dagger and some ash and claims it can kill an Original?" Ric asks.

"Yep. And Elijah confirmed it." Damon replies.

"You told Elijah he gave it to you?" Ric asks with his eyes wide.

"He's my biological father Ric. We wouldn't use it against him, though that's what John wants us to do." I tell him.

He nods. "Where is it now?" He asks.

"Somewhere safe. Elijah left it with us to prove we can trust him. He's coming back later with my mother." I tell him.

"You ready for that?" He asks.

I shrug. "I want to meet her. Elijah says she will be able to help with my magic training." I say. Ric nods and looks at his watch.

"I got to go, I need to pick Jenna up." He says, standing up.

"We'll see you later." I tell him.

He leaves and a few seconds later we hear a crash from the hallway.

We go out into the hallway and see Ric has been stabbed in the stomach with a big knife.

"Ric!" I call out before I feel a pinch on my neck and everything goes black.

* * *

I wake up a while later tied to a chair. I see Damon chained to another chair with some kind of collar with wooden spikes around his neck. A man I recognise as one of the werewolves, Stevie, is holding the chains attached to the collar. There's another 2 male werewolves and Jules is in the corner. All this because Mason wouldn't go back to their pack and friendly with us? I'm not surprised he wanted to stay in Mystic Falls; these wolves are crazy.

I turn my head and see Ric laid on the floor. Luckily he has his Gilbert ring on, so we know he'll come back. I try a spell to untie my ropes, but my magic isn't responding. I glare at the wolves in the room.

"What have you done to me?" I growl.

"Just a little something to knock you out and stop you from using magic for a while." Jules says.

"Morning, sunshine." a male wolf, Stevie, says to Damon as he wakes up. "I saw this movie once, some torture porn flick. Anyway, they had this collar device that was really cool, so I just modified it some with some wooden nails, and when I pull..." He pulls the chains and the wooden spikes dig into Damon's neck further.

"Damon!" I cry out as he groans in pain.

"Imogen. What did they do to you?" He growls out.

"They've given me something to stop me doing magic." I say.

Damon growls in response.

"So I hear you have the moonstone." Jules says, walking over from the corner she was standing in.

"Let me tell you how this is gonna go. You're gonna torture me, I don't talk. I'm severely pissed off that you've hurt my wife, _**again**_. Someone will lose a heart." Damon growls out.

"Yes, it'll be you." Jules replies, nodding at Stevie who pulls the chains some more.

"You know what the great thing about buckshot is? It scatters through the body. Maximum damage." Jules says, pointing the gun at Damon.

"Don't you dare shoot him, bitch." I growl out.

"Where's the moonstone?" Jules asks.

"Get over it, honey. You're never gonna get it." Damon tells her.

"You looking for this?" Elijah says, leaning against the banister, twirling the moonstone in his hand. I've never been so pleased to see him.

All the wolves turn to look at him as he walks down the stairs and places the moonstone on a table and backs away.

"Go ahead. Take it." He says. One of the wolves rushes over to try and get it, but Elijah rips his heart out before he can get it. The other two rush at him and he easily rips both their hearts out at the same time. I see Jules run out of the house, and Stevie cowers, pulling his jacket over his head.

Elijah pulls him to his feet. "What about you, sweetheart, hmm? You want to take a shot? Yes? No? Yes? Where's the girl?"

"I don't know." Damon says.

"She ran" I say.

"It doesn't really matter." Elijah says, then punches Stevie in the face, knocking him out. He rips my ropes off me then removes the chains from Damon.

"So you realise this is the third time I've saved your lives now? Are you two danger magnets?" Elijah says with a chuckle.

"Seems that way." I reply with a sigh.

Damon staggers to his feet and comes over to me.

"Are you okay?" He asks, cupping my face in his hands.

"I feel fuzzy, probably from whatever they gave me to suppress my magic." I say.

Elijah narrows his eyes at me. "Your mother is outside. If you can invite her in I'm sure she can check you over."

I look at Damon who gives a nod. I know he's worried about me and the maybe baby.

Elijah and Damon help me up and to the door. I grab the talisman on the way. We get to the door to see a brunette lady who I bear resemblance to pacing outside.

"Sophia." Elijah says softly.

"Imogen." She breathes, staring at me.

"Hi." I say in response. "I have a boundary spell on the house as extra protection. I can't do the spell to let you in because they gave me something to suppress my magic."

"Can you come out here? I can see what they've given you." She says. I nod and go out to sit on the wall. Damon follows me, not letting go of me.

"Sophia, this is Damon, my husband. I don't know how much Elijah has told you."

"Nice to meet you." Damon says.

"And you." Sophia replies. "Elijah has told me you two are soulmates and you have a daughter."

"We do. She's not here, which I'm thankful for." I tell her.

"Me too, but I would like to meet my granddaughter, if you wouldn't mind." She says.

I nod in response. She holds her hands up in front of me and starts chanting. After a few minutes her hands glow and the fuzzy feeling I had disappears.

"There. You should feel better now. They had given you witch hazel, but I neutralised it." Sophia says.

"Thank you." I say with a small smile. "If you put a few drops of blood in this I can let you in the house."

Sophia cuts her finger on a fang and allows a few drops of blood to fall on the talisman. I chant the spell and feel my magic working. I walk through the door.

"Sophia, please come in." I tell her, and she walks in. I lead her into the parlour, followed by Elijah.

"I'm going to check on Ric." Damon says and heads into the library. He returns a couple of minutes later with him, and lays him on one of the couches.

"Is he dead?" Sophia asks.

"Yep." Damon replies.

"He has a ring that will bring him back to life if he dies at the hands of a supernatural. It was werewolves that attacked us, so he should wake up soon." I explain.

"I need a blood bag. Anyone else?" Damon asks.

"Me please." I say. Elijah and Sophia both decline. Damon goes to the basement to get us each a blood bag. He hands me mine and sits next to me.

"It's so good to see you." Sophia says. I nod.

"I know you came over to fill us in on things, but I just want to have a shower and rest. Can we speak tomorrow?" I ask Elijah and Sophia.

They glance at each other and then nod.

"Sure. Why did they attack you?" Sophia asks.

I sigh. "One of their pack came back to Mystic Falls because his brother died, and has decided to stay. He's friendly with us and the female, Jules, seems to blame Damon for turning him against them, even though we did nothing. Today they wanted the moonstone, so I'm assuming they've heard about the curse and want to break it themselves."

"Don't they sound charming." Sophia says.

"I know." I reply.

We arrange for Elijah and Sophia to come back in the morning and say our goodbyes. Elijah leaves us the book he spoke about earlier which can help us understand better what Damon can do. I call Jenna and explain what happened and why Ric never picked her up. She tells me she'll bring Scarlett over so she can see Ric.

A few minutes after I finish my phone call Ric wakes up with a gasp.

"Finally. You missed all the fun." Damon tells him.

"I need to call Jenna." Ric says.

"I already did. I explained what happened and she's on her way over with Scarlett." I tell him.

"What happened?" Ric asks.

"We were attacked by werewolves. They tortured me, and then Elijah saved us. That reminds me, I have some bodies to get rid of." Damon says.

Just then Jenna walks in with Scarlett. She hands her to me before going over to Ric.

"Are you okay?" She asks him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ric tells her. She sighs in relief.

"John Gilbert is driving me mad. He's spent the afternoon dropping hints that you're lying to me about Isobel. He doesn't know I know everything already." Jenna tells Ric.

"John is an ass." I tell her. She chuckles.

Ric and Jenna leave a while later.

"I'm going to get rid of these bodies. You get Scarlett to bed and I'll be back as quickly as I can." Damon tells me.

"Okay." I tell him. He kisses me then disappears. I head upstairs, get Scarlett ready for bed and head to our room.

I get showered and into my pyjamas. My phone rings and it's Bonnie. She explains what they did today with Luka and that Elijah plans to let Klaus do the sacrifice as that is the only way he can kill him.

When Damon gets back I explain to him what Bonnie said. He tells me that Tyler had been talking to Jules and the others, and whilst we were attacked, Brady and Tyler had gone to the lake house to try and get Elena. Stefan explained to Tyler that Elena has to die in the ritual and then Stefan killed Brady. Tyler left a note and has run away.

Once Damon is showered he climbs into bed and wraps me in his arms. We fall asleep quickly.


	38. I Can Feel The Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. Twist on the dinner party, hope you enjoy! Thanks for the new kudos and comments, I appreciate them all!

**March 31st 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Heart Of The Hurricane; Beyond The Black**

_Oh there is no way to hide it_

_Now all the blood and pressure's rising_

_I can feel the thunder_

_Running through my veins_

_Running through my veins_

_I can feel the thunder_

_Tonight_

_Tonight_

_When darkness strikes_

_And all the hearts ignite_

_I can feel the thunder_

_Running through my veins_

_I'm the heart of the hurricane_

**Imogen's POV**

The following morning I wake up to Damon reading through the book Elijah gave him.

"Hey." I mumble at him.

"Hey babe." He replies. "How are you feeling this morning? Is the baby okay after yesterday?"

"I'm fine, no cramping or bleeding so we're good. The protection spell I cast when they kidnapped me is still in place."

"Good." He replies with a small huff of relief

"Found anything interesting?" I ask.

"Actually, yes" He replies. "This book has a small section, but it says that I should be able to control any animal I want, which I suspected, I've just never tried. It also says I can control the weather, so rain, storms, sun, the whole thing. It says with practice I will be able to change into an animal, likely a wolf or crow, possibly both. It also says I can control dreams, which again I already knew, and I should be able to read auras."

"That's definitely more than your average vampire parlour trick." I reply.

"It certainly is." He chuckles.

I hear Scarlett starting to wake up so I hop out of bed and go to her room. Once she's changed I take her back to our room where Damon is already ready for the day. He takes Scarlett from me whilst I get ready then we head downstairs and grab breakfast.

We've just finished breakfast and are in the parlour when the doorbell rings. I go to answer it and find Elijah and Sophia there.

"Morning." I say, stepping back to let them in. I lead them into the parlour.

"Morning." They reply together.

"Sophia, I believe there is someone you wanted to meet." I say, picking Scarlett up. "This is your granddaughter, Scarlett Salvatore."

"Oh Imogen, she's beautiful. She's definitely Damon's, you can't deny it with her hair and eyes." Sophia says. "How old is she?"

"She's 10 months." I reply.

"May I hold her?" She asks. I nod and pass Scarlett to her. We all sit down on the couches.

"We have a lot to talk about." Elijah starts. I nod in response.

"I would like to start." Sophia says. I hum in agreement. "I'm sorry we gave you up. I was 16, and my family were not happy I had gotten pregnant so young. I couldn't tell them who your father was because of him being a Vampire. My family were very much against vampires, they despised them. I was young, underage, and scared, so scared of what they might do because of my age, and also him being a Vampire.

My Mom insisted I give you up, she said I was too young to be a mother and she wouldn't support me. I had no way of supporting myself and whilst Elijah would have supported us, we also needed to keep you safe. We couldn't have Klaus finding out about you. You're a Jacobs witch, but also a descendant of the Original witch, which makes you more powerful than any witch in a long time. Klaus craves power - he wanted me simply because I'm a Jacobs witch. If he ever found out about you he would want you more than me. We couldn't let that happen. We needed to protect our baby girl."

Sophia has tears streaming down her face as she speaks. Scarlett, who is still in her arms, looks up at her and pats her cheek, making her cry even more.

"I hate that I missed out on so many things with you. Even after the crash, I couldn't get you back. We had to let everyone think I was dead so Klaus would stop looking for me. We would come to town and check on you from a distance. Miranda and Grayson were so happy to have you, and you were growing up happy too."

"I was happy, you're right. Miranda and Grayson loved me, I loved them, and I did have a happy childhood. As much as I wish I could have grown up with my real mom and dad, I wouldn't have changed them for the world. As a mom I can understand wanting to do the best for my child, and I can't even imagine how hard it was for you both." I say, tears streaming down my own face now. Damon wraps his arm around me and pulls me close.

"Ever since Elijah told me, I've been kind of angry that you could just give me up. But seeing you so upset, you explaining why you had to do it, and the sincerity I feel from you, I don't feel angry anymore. I forgive you both and hope you will stick around. I need my mom and dad, now more than ever."

Both Sophia and Elijah look at me and nod.

"We don't plan on leaving you again." Elijah says.

"Thank you." I reply.

"You will need all the help you can get to protect Scarlett. Whilst you're a powerful witch, Imogen, Scarlett, and any other children you have will be even more so." Elijah says.

"Because of Damon?" I say.

"Yes. Because he is descended from Silas and has extra powers, and you being who you are, your children will be the most powerful witches ever known." Elijah explains.

"We already knew that." I say.

"Bree?" Sophia asks.

"How do you know?" I ask her, nodding. Damon cocks an eyebrow at her.

"I have visions. I had one a few years ago that you would go visit Bree with your soulmate, so we visited Bree and left a book on soulmates and the grimoires for her to give to you. She called us after you left to let us know you had visited and she had helped you learn the basics over the few days you were there." Sophia tells us.

"Thank you. I have a few questions, if I may?" I say.

"Of course" Sophia replies and Elijah nods.

"The book on soulmates says that a hybrid will start to need to blood when they reach their teenage years, but I never craved it. Why not?" I ask.

"A hybrid doesn't have the same cravings as a Vampire. How do you like your steak?" Elijah asks.

"What has steak got to do with it?" I ask, confused.

"Please, just answer the question." Elijah says.

"Rare. I like my steak rare." I say.

Elijah nods. "So, bloody." He says.

I realise what he was getting at. "Yes. I get it now. So I got what I needed through food and then when I met Damon through blood sharing."

"Yes." Elijah replies.

"When Mason said I smelled like a Vampire I drank human blood, and it was as though I completed the transition." I state.

"Yes. Had you drank human blood earlier it would have happened earlier." Elijah says.

"I read the book you left. Will Imogen have the powers I have?" Damon asks.

Elijah nods. "Yes, she will. You may find you can do some magic also, since she is a hybrid and you would have been a witch before your transition. You are the first soulmate couple of your kind, so things are somewhat unknown." He tells Damon.

Damon nods in response.

"I have a question about the sacrifice ritual. Bonnie did something with Luka, and he told her that to kill Klaus the sacrifice has to happen, and only then will you be able to kill Klaus, meaning Elena will have to die. Is that right?" I ask.

Elijah nods. My eyes fill with tears.

"It is right, but I have a plan to save your sister. I have a potion that will resuscitate her." Elijah says.

"What exactly is the curse? I don't believe the stories we have found, they don't make sense. Why would a Vampire want to break the curse when they can get a witch to make daylight jewellery?" I ask.

"You really are observant. You're right, the stories and legends don't give the correct story, but what better way to find the moonstone and doppelganger than to have two entire species looking for them." He says.

"So what is the true story?" Damon asks.

"My brother, Klaus, is actually my half brother. Our mother turned us into Vampires after our youngest sibling, Henrik, died after being attacked by a werewolf. He and Klaus had snuck out to watch them during the full moon and Henrik was attacked.

Our parents had already lost their first child before we moved here, and they couldn't stand to lose anymore after Henrik. They cast the immortality spell that turned us into Vampires. When Klaus killed his first human he transitioned into a werewolf, making it obvious our Mother had been unfaithful.

Our mother bound Klaus' werewolf side, in a ritual using the blood of the original doppelganger, Tatia. To unbind it he needs the moonstone, which binds the spell, and he needs to kill a werewolf, a vampire, and drink the blood of the doppelganger to the point of her death. Once that has been done he will be vulnerable and I will be able to kill him." Elijah explains.

"How do we know the potion will work?" I ask.

"You will be able to get a read on it. Sophia will help you. And you're more than welcome to try and find your own solution as well." Elijah says.

"It all depends on Elena. She may not be my blood, but she is my sister, and if she doesn't want to go through with it then I won't." I say.

"Stefan won't be happy." Damon says.

"It's Elena's choice." I say.

"I know. Just saying, Stefan won't be happy." Damon replies.

"Then we'll deal with him if we need to." Elijah says.

"Don't hurt him." I say.

"I won't." Elijah replies.

"I have one request." I say.

"What might that be?" Elijah asks.

"The werewolf for the ritual, it needs to be Jules. She kidnapped and tortured Caroline and I, then she knocked us out and tortured Damon yesterday. She needs to die." I say.

Elijah smirks at me. "I was already planning on it. No one hurts my daughter or her friends and family and gets away with it."

"Thank you." I reply. Damon gives him a nod.

"Well we must go. I'm meeting your Aunt Jenna and she's going to show me the old property lines. The history of Mystic Falls is intriguing." Elijah says.

"Okay. She knows who and what you are, but I would like to introduce her to Sophia myself if that's okay?" I say.

"Of course." Elijah nods. Sophia hands Scarlett back to me and they say their goodbyes and leave.

"You feel a bit better about everything now?" Damon asks.

I sigh and sit back down. "I do. They meant what they said about wanting to stay in my life now, and now Sophia has explained I understand why they let me go."

Damon pulls me close and kisses my head. Scarlett babbles in my arms. I set her down to play with her toys and sit down on the couch. Damon plays with Scarlett for a while before joining me and wrapping his arms around me.

"Let's go to the Grill for lunch." He says to me.

"Okay" I reply. We get up from the couch, scoop up Scarlett and head to the grill.

* * *

We're finishing our meal when Ric comes in and joins us.

"So, how was your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls?" Damon asks him.

"It was boring. Of course, Jenna thinks Elijah's charming." Ric replies. I raise my eyebrow at him.

"You sound jealous." Damon tells him, glancing at me.

"You know, you kind of do. You know he's got a soulmate, right?" I say.

"I do." Ric replies sheepishly.

We see Jenna walk in with Elijah.

"Ah, there's Jenna with Elijah. Hi." Damon says as they approach our table.

"Hey, guys." Jenna says, smiling. Scarlett babbles at them both.

"So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today." Damon says.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jenna replies.

"I think we need to have a get together, introduce everyone properly. How about a dinner party?" I say, giving Damon and Elijah pointed looks.

"Ooh, my wife. Full of good ideas. We'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?" Damon says, looking at me. I nod my agreement.

"I don't know if tonight works..." Ric says.

"Yeah, I'm free." Jenna says.

Elijah smiles at us. "It'd be a pleasure."

"Great. Our house, say 7pm?" Damon says, looking at me.

"7pm" I say in agreement. Everyone agrees and we say our goodbyes and head home.

"You're cooking." I tell him happily as we walk into the kitchen.

"It was your idea." He says with a frown as I put Scarlett in her high chair with some toys to play with.

"And you agreed." I reply.

"How about we both cook?" He says.

I sigh. "Okay then" I reply. He chuckles at me and we get to work. Once everything is ready we head upstairs to quickly shower and change ourselves, and change Scarlett before heading back downstairs to wait for our guests.

Ric and Jenna arrive first. I let them in and lead them into the parlour, Scarlett in my arms. I set her down to play.

"John is doing his best to cause trouble. He keeps telling me Ric is keeping things from me about Isobel." Jenna says as Damon pours drinks.

"And he's threatening me to get the Gilbert ring back." Ric adds.

Damon's phone rings and he answers it. I hear the conversation and know it's Stefan calling to tell him that Elena was reading more of Johnathan Gilbert's journals at the lake house and discovered that the dagger has to be used by a human as if it is used by a vampire it will take both lives.

Damon repeats the information once he's finished on the phone.

"So, he gave you the dagger to get you to kill Elijah, knowing it would kill you too." I state angrily.

"It appears that way." Damon says.

The lights flicker because of my anger. Damon comes over to me and pulls me into his arms.

"Imz, calm down. Think of the baby." He tells me.

"Baby?" Ric and Jenna say at the same time. I sigh.

"There's a big chance I'm pregnant." I tell them. "But we're not 100% sure yet, so we were waiting to tell everyone until we are."

Both Jenna and Ric smile at us.

"Don't worry, we'll keep quiet. But Damon's right, you need to calm down." Jenna tells me.

"I know, but John was trying to get my husband killed." I reply.

"But I'm fine, and I have no intention of using the dagger on Elijah." Damon says.

I take some deep breaths and calm myself down.

"Okay. I still hate him though." I say. Damon just nods in response.

The doorbell rings. "I'll get it." Jenna says, heading to the door.

"Who invited him?" We hear Jenna say. Damon walks out to the door.

"John. Surprise. Leave." Damon tells him.

"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party with Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games." John says. Ric and I both walk out, Scarlett on my hip.

"There are not going to be any games tonight, John. It's just a friendly dinner party." Ric says.

_"We can have fun with this."_ I think to Damon.

_"We can indeed."_ Damon replies to me.

"What he said." Damon says out loud. We head back into the parlour.

"I'm going to check on dinner. Jenna, could you give me a hand?" I say, looking at Damon. He understands what I'm going to do.

"Sure." Jenna replies, and I lead her into the kitchen.

"We're going to have fun with John." I tell her.

"I forget that you and Damon can speak telepathically. I'm assuming he thinks Damon is going to kill Elijah with the dagger?" Jenna says.

"He does. He doesn't know Elijah is my Dad, so we're going to use that to our advantage." I tell her.

"Can't wait." Jenna says. We head back to the parlour.

The doorbell rings again and Damon goes to answer it this time, and I follow knowing it will be my parents.

"Good evening." Elijah says

"Thank you both for coming. Please, come in." Damon says and leads us all to the parlour.

"Elijah, Sophia, you've met Ric and Jenna, this is John Gilbert. John, this is Elijah Mikaelson and Sophia Jacobs. My parents." I say. John's jaw drops open.

"Y-your p-parents?" He stutters.

I smile as everyone else gives him amused looks.

"Yes. My parents." I say with a smile, pleased to see John caught out by my revelation.

"Let's all go sit down. Dinner is about ready." Danon says, gesturing towards the dining room.

Everyone takes a seat and I put Scarlett in her high chair whilst Damon and I serve the food. Once everyone has their food and a drink we sit and start to eat.

"So, ahh, Sophia. I'm sorry if this sounds blunt, but I thought you died in a car crash when Imogen was a few months old?" John asks.

"I did." She replies simply.

"Then how are you..." John starts.

"Alive? I'm not." Sophia replies with a smile.

"I'm not sure I understand." John says.

"Oh come on John. You know about vampires." Damon says with a smirk.

John looks at Jenna, who smiles.

"I know everything John. Including the fact that Isobel is a Vampire and Damon turned her." She says smugly.

"So all things you've been saying to try and cause trouble has been a waste of time. The only thing you've achieved is to make a fool of yourself." Ric adds.

"And to top it all off, you're now eating dinner with two vampires, two vampire/witch hybrids, and two humans, all of which can't stand you." I finish.

"Three hybrids." Damon says. I nod.

"H-hybrids?" John stammers.

"Yep." Sophia replies. Elijah gives him an amused look.

"Add in the fact that you gave Damon the dagger and ash expecting him to kill Elijah with it, when you know it would have killed him, means you probably don't want to hang around much longer." I say.

"Erm, right. I think I should go." John says, getting up and practically running out of the house.

Once he's left we all burst out laughing.

We spend the rest of the evening enjoying the food and the company as everyone gets to know each other a little better. Once everyone has gone we put Scarlett to bed and clean up, then we curl up together on one of the couches in front of the fire.

"I had a great time tonight." I say to Damon.

"Me too. John's face was a picture." He replies.

I lean up to kiss him. He deepens the kiss and things start to get heated.

"Let's take this upstairs." He says. I nod in agreement. He picks me up bridal style and we head upstairs to our room.


	39. Arms Wide Open

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year!
> 
> I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. I was busy with Christmas and then spending time with my little family trying to make it the best we could since we couldn't visit family or do the things we normally would. Then it took me a while to get my head back in the writing game. We're also back in national lockdown here in England so back to playing school teacher for the next 6 weeks.

**April 3rd 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: With Arms Wide Open; Creed**

_Well I just heard the news today_

_It seems my life is gonna change_

_I close my eyes, begin to pray_

_Then tears of joy stream down my face_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake with Damon spooning me, his arms wrapped tightly around me and one hand resting on my tummy. It's been two weeks since our wedding and we think we conceived, so I told him that I would take a test today to find out for sure.

I'm 99% sure that I am. I'm starting to feel slightly nauseous on and off during the day and Damon has commented about my scent changing again, most likely due to the change in hormones.

"Morning." He mumbles into my hair.

"Morning." I reply, turning over to look at him. He has an odd look on his face.

"What's that look for?" I ask.

"I'm not sure if I'm nervous or excited." He replies, with a slight frown.

"Why would you be nervous?" I ask with furrowed brows.

"Because we are surrounded by supernatural drama and that's going to make it harder to keep you safe." He replies.

"It will be fine. You'll see. I'll go do the test." I say.

I head into the bathroom and pull out the tests I got yesterday. There are two types, one that shows 2 pink lines if you're pregnant and one that is digital. I do both tests and take them back to bedroom. I sit on the bed and place them face down.

We sit there in silence, Damon gently rubbing my hand until the time is up.

"Here goes." I say, turning over the line test. We see two pink lines on it.

"What does that mean?" Damon asks.

"Turn the other one over." I reply. He gives me a confused look but does as I ask.

"Pregnant 1-2." He says. I grin at him. "You're definitely pregnant." He says, grinning widely.

"I am." I reply.

"What does 1-2 mean? 1-2 kids?" He asks. I laugh in response and he glares a little.

"No. It means it's been 1-2 weeks since conception, so technically 3-4 weeks pregnant. Which would be right as it's been 2 weeks." I tell him.

"How does that make you 4 weeks pregnant?" He asks confused.

"They date pregnancies from the first day of the last period, so it's always around 2 weeks longer than when it actually happened." I explain.

"That makes no sense." He replies.

"I know, but don't worry about it." I tell him. The next thing I know he is out of bed and picking me up, twirling me around. I laugh.

"What's this for?" I say, resting my hands on his shoulders.

"I'm happy. Thank you for bringing so much light into my life, and giving me two children." He replies. He puts me down on the bed and takes my hands, looking serious.

"Damon..." I start. He holds his finger to my lips to quiet me.

"I've never told anyone this, but I used to miss being human. I love being a Vampire, don't get me wrong, but I missed being human. Before I turned I always wanted a family, a wife and children, and for that reason I missed being human more than anything.

Then you came along, and now I have everything I ever wanted. I have a beautiful wife and daughter, and another baby on the way. It's literally all I ever wanted and never thought I would have. I truly don't miss being human anymore because the reasons I missed it, the things I wanted, I now have. I love you, Imogen Salvatore.

Thank you for giving me everything I ever wanted and making me the happiest man alive. I've never been very good at feelings, even before I was a vampire, but you changed that. You accepted me for who I am, and that actually changed me because you didn't try to force me to change, like Stefan did. I wanted to be better, for you, and for Scarlett."

"And you are. You're an amazing Dad to Scarlett, and you will be to this little one as well. And I couldn't ask for a better husband. I love you, Damon Salvatore, just the way you are." I reply before leaning in to kiss him.

"Are we going to tell everyone?" Damon asks.

"Normally I would say not until 12 weeks, but given the shit show that is our world, yes I think we should tell everyone we're close to." I reply.

"That makes sense." He replies.

* * *

Later that day we're in the library when the doorbell rings. Damon goes to answer it and comes in with Elijah and Sophia following him.

"Hi." I say with a smile. "What can we do for you?" I ask as they sit opposite Damon and I.

"I was wondering if Damon might know of the site where 100 witches were burned." Elijah says.

"Why do you need to know that?" I ask.

"Because my witches will need to harness the power in order to take down Klaus." Elijah tells us.

"I think I might know." Damon tells him. Elijah nods. "I'll see what I can find out and let you know."

"We have some news." I blurt out. Sophia and Elijah look at me expectantly.

"I'm pregnant again." I say. Damon rubs his hand on my back.

Sophia and Elijah look at each other quickly then turn back to us and smile.

"Congratulations." Sophia says with a smile.

"Yes, congratulations." Elijah adds.

"Thanks." I reply. "I don't suppose you know if this pregnancy will be any different from my last? You know, now I've activated my vampire side as it were."

They both shake their heads.

"From what we know, it should be the same, just like a human pregnancy." Sophia tells us. I nod in response.

We make arrangements for Damon to show Elijah where the witches were burned so his witches can harness the power, and then say our goodbyes and they leave.

Shortly after Stefan arrives.

"Hey Stef." I say. Damon grins at him.

"We have news, brother." He tells him.

"What news?" He asks, frowning.

"Imogen is pregnant." Damon says. Stefan's frown turns into a big grin.

"I know you said it was a possibility, but I take it you know for sure now?" He asks, excitedly.

I nod. "Did a test this morning." I tell him.

"Congratulations. I'm so excited to be an Uncle again." He says, before bouncing out of the room.

"Looks like someone's excited." I say with a chuckle. Damon snickers.

"I bet he's hoping for a boy." He says. I roll my eyes.

"And what do you want?" I ask.

"Honestly? I don't mind as long as it's healthy." He replies.

"Same here." I reply, kissing him deeply.

My phone beeps with a text message. I check it.

_**Girl's night at the Gilbert house. No excuses. ~ Caroline** _

I sigh. Damon cocks an eyebrow at me.

"Girl's night apparently. No excuses according to Caroline." I tell him.

"Go. It will do you good." He tells me.

"You know I hate being away from you." I tell him.

"I know, it's the soulmate pull, but you need to spend time with your friends. You can give them our news." He tells me. I nod in response.

"I know you're right." I sigh.

I get ready and head over to the Gilbert house for girl's night.

* * *

I'm in the kitchen with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline. We're trying to cheer Caroline up because things aren't great with her and Matt.

"Chinese food or pizza?" Caroline asks.

"Like you have to ask." Elena replies, making us all chuckle.

Caroline grabs her tablet to order and sees the picture of her and Matt on her homescreen, getting sad. Bonnie notices and takes it from her.

"I'll do it." She says.

"What are we going to do about this movie situation? What about "The Notebook"?" Caroline asks. I groan in response.

"Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?" Elena asks.

"That is so not the point." Caroline replies as Jenna enters the kitchen.

"Hey." Elena says, smiling.

"What's going on?" Jenna asks.

"Girls' night." Elena tells her.

"Sounds good." Jenna says with a smile.

"Well, since you're all here, I have some news." I say. Everyone turns to look at me.

"I'm pregnant." I blurt out. They all stare at me in silence for a few seconds before they start hugging me.

"Congratulations!" Caroline squeals.

"Congratulations." Bonnie says with a smile.

Elena and Jenna both hug me tight.

"I should probably say something about you being young, but you're married so I guess I'll leave it." Jenna says with a laugh.

"You know what we need to celebrate? Dancing. There is a band at the Grill." Caroline says.

"I'm in." Bonnie says.

"In." Jenna, Elena and I all chorus together.

We get ready and head to the Grill.

* * *

We enter the Grill and see Ric at the bar.

"I need a drink." Jenna says and heads over to him.

"So much for girl's night." I chuckle.

"Hey, Matt." Caroline says as Matt walks towards us. He ignores her and walks past.

"Things just got real awkward." Bonnie says. I sigh.

We go over to get drinks then stand listening to the band.

"He said the ball's in your court." Bonnie says to Caroline.

"Yeah, but I can't do anything about it." Caroline says.

"Why not? All you do is talk about how much you care about him." Bonnie replies.

"Yeah, but I'm still keeping so many secrets." Caroline replies sadly.

"Perhaps he should know. Not everything, but enough so he understands." I say with a shrug.

The band finishes the song and Caroline takes her jacket off, handing it to Elena.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Elena asks. Caroline ignores her, then goes to stage and takes the microphone.

"Hey, everybody. Let's hear it for the band! Weren't they awesome?" She says, clapping. Everyone joins in.

"So there's this guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him. Like it's so easy. Um, you know, just 'cause I talk a lot doesn't mean I always know what I'm actually talking about. Ah, like now, I'm feeling loopy and I don't really know how to express myself." Caroline says. The singer of the band tries to take the microphone off her but she doesn't let him.

"I can sing. Yeah! Yeah. You know what, I'm going to sing." Caroline says.

We all look at each other, confused.

"Sing?" Elena asks. I shrug in response.

I see the singer telling Caroline to get ofd the stage, and I hear her compel him to let her stay and help her out. He asks her what song and she whispers the answer, which I can't catch. The band start playing and Caroline starts singing Eternal Flame.

"She's good!" Jenna says as she joins us.

"Yeah!" Elena replies.

As the song finishes Matt looks over at us. Elena smiles at him and nods, so he heads over to the stage.

"Matt...I..." Caroline says as they meet. Matt kisses her in response. Everyone cheers.

A while later Bonnie and I are heading towards the bathroom when we bump into Elena.

"I wouldn't go in there. Caroline and Matt..." She says, trailing off.

"Got it." I say, turning round.

Shortly after that I decide to call it a night and head home.

When I arrive I find Damon in the parlour reading a journal.

"Hey." I say.

"Hey." He says with a smile. I walk over to him and he pulls me into his lap. The pull we feel when we're away from each other has eased and we both feel whole again. I kiss him and he responds eagerly. After a few minutes we break apart.

"Find anything?" I ask.

"Yep. Emily Bennett was killed at the same place. They thought it would be poetic." he tells me.

"And you know where she was killed?" I ask.

"I do." He replies with a wide smile, before standing up and carrying me to bed.

* * *

**April 4th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The next morning I wake to my phone beeping with a text message. I groan and pick it up. Then I groan again.

"What's up?" Damon asks.

"Isobel is back. She turned up at the house last night." I say. Damon groans in response.

"Of all the parents to reappear it had to be Elena's." He says. I chuckle.

"I guess we need to tell Elijah where the witches were burned." I say.

"I guess we do." Damon replies.

We cuddle for a while longer before we hear Scarlett wake. Damon goes to get her whilst I get dressed. I pull on my jeans but can't quite fasten them. I growl and take them off, opting for leggings instead.

"What were you growling at?" Damon asks with a chuckle as he comes back in.

"Stupid pregnancy bloat." I reply. "Can't fasten my jeans."

"We can go shopping if you need new clothes." He tells me.

"I guess." I sigh. He kisses my head gently.

"Come on, let's get breakfast." He says.

After breakfast I phone Elijah and he arranges to come over. When he arrives Damon explains it will be easier to show him and heads out with him, leaving me with Scarlett. We spend the time playing until my phone rings. I see Elena's name on the caller ID.

"Hi 'Lena" I say as I answer.

_"Immy! Can you pick me up from Grove Hill cemetery?"_ She asks.

"Sure. What are you doing there?" I ask.

_"Isobel kidnapped me and brought me here, then took off her necklace so she burned. Now I'm stranded."_ She tells me.

"Urgh that bitch. I'll be there as quickly as I can." I say before hanging up. I get Scarlett and head out to my car to rescue my sister.

She fills me in on what Isobel has said and we come to the conclusion that she did in fact find Klaus when she went looking for him and he compelled her. That means that Klaus knows of her existence, which is really not good. I sigh.

We head back to the boarding house so Elena can spend time with Stefan. Damon is home when we get back so we get dinner ready. Scarlett and I eat, then we put her to bed, before heading to our room ourselves for the night.


	40. You Will Remember Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again, sorry for the delay. We're back in lockdown in the UK so working from home, playing teacher and being harassed by a puppy that is absolutely mental!
> 
> I don't own anything TVD related. I wish I owned Damon though. Sigh.
> 
> Thanks, as always, for your comments, and votes. I never thought anyone would actually read this never mind so many people!

**April 26th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Death Punch Therapy; Five Finger Death Punch**

_T-t-t-take it away!_

_Crossed straight, stop, rip it out and tear it up_

_This is how we roll, never really gave a fuck_

_I could hate your point of view on everything I've ever been_

_You choose to die a martyr, well I choose to live in sin_

_Where did I go wrong?_

_Who was I supposed to be?_

_When it's said and done_

_You will remember me!_

**Imogen's POV**

It's been a blissful couple of weeks. On my 20th Birthday, on April 10th, Damon handed me an envelope. True to his word he had arranged for a mini honeymoon, but he included Scarlett. In the envelope were tickets for the 3 of us for a week at Disneyworld in Florida. I've always wanted to go and was delighted.

Despite being pregnant there was plenty for the 3 of us to do. Scarlett loved the characters and we went on some rides. Damon acted like a big kid, once again confirming for me that he's not just a big bad vampire, but that he has many sides. Don't get me wrong, I know what and who he is, and I know he really can be a big bad vampire, but I also love that he lets me see his other sides too.

We got back a few days ago to discover that Jonas, Luka and Bonnie have all harnessed the power of the witches. The plan is once Klaus completes the sacrifice and is in transition they will weaken him to the point of death then Elijah will swoop in and rip his heart out, killing him.

Sophia and I have checked the potion and we believe it will work. We're also looking for anything else, just in case. Elena has accepted that she will have to die, and would rather that than anyone she cares about die as a result of Klaus' wrath. Stefan isn't quite so happy about it all though.

One unnerving thing is that Katherine has gone missing from the tomb. Jonas, Luka, Grams and Bonnie have all stated they had nothing to do with her release, which leads me to believe that there is someone else in town we don't know about yet. It's unsettling not knowing what is going to happen and who is here, but I have to trust in my parents, and the protection spells Bree placed on us to keep us safe.

Later that afternoon our peace is shattered. We're in the parlour when Stefan, Elena and Bonnie arrive. They explain how Klaus compelled a student, Dana to pass a message to Elena, asking if she is going to the dance tonight and he wants her to save him the last dance.

"So we go to the dance, and we find him." Damon states. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Really? How are we going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like." Stefan retorts.

"Something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply." Damon replies, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school." Stefan says, turning to look at Elena and Bonnie. "I guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"

We hear a knock at the door and Ric walks in.

"There you are." Damon says.

"Sorry I'm late." Ric replies.

"Hey, I need you to put me and Imogen down as a chaperones at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move." Damon tells him. I shake my head lightly, sensing something isn't quite right with Ric, but not knowing what.

"Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack?" Elena asks.

"Me. I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him." Bonnie says. I know she's been told not to mention that Jonas and Luka are also able to channel those same powers.

"That's not going to be that easy. I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around." Ric says.

"Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he..." Damon starts to say, breaking off when he starts to run at vampire speed. Bonnie throws him across the room without touching him.

"Damon!" I exclaim running over to help him up, giving Bonnie a disapproving look.

"Well, I was impressed." Stefan says.

"You would be, never mind about your brother." I mutter. Stefan raises an eyebrow at me.

"It doesn't matter if he's an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can." Bonnie says.

We all went our separate ways, Bonnie and Ric going home and Elena going to Stefan's room to find something to wear in the clothes by Damon and Stefan's relatives over the year.

We're in our room getting ready. Scarlett is already at the Gilbert house as Jenna offered to babysit knowing that she couldn't do much herself.

"Imz, promise me you'll be careful tonight." Damon says.

I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him quickly.

"I will. You worry too much." I tell him.

"You're my soulmate, and you're pregnant. Of course I'm going to be protective." He replies, leaning his forehead against me.

"The baby has a protection spell, so do I, as do you. You know the spells Bree cast and you know I keep them stengthened." I tell him.

"I know, and that's the reason why you're even going rather than staying here wrapped in bubble wrap." He replies. I roll my eyes.

"I will be careful. You know I will. Me being pregnant is why I'm not also channeling the witches; it would be too risky." I tell him.

"Thank you. I love you." He replies.

"And I love you, caveman." I reply with a chuckle.

"Not a caveman, just protecting my mate." He growls in response.

"Exactly. Caveman." I laugh. He smirks in response.

We finish getting ready and head to the school with Stefan and Elena.

We meet up with Jeremy, Anna, Bonnie and Luka and head inside. As we do Dana starts speaking into the microphone on the stage.

"Thanks for being here, everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight. This is for Elena. From Klaus." She says.

Elena looks stunned. I look at Damon who cocks and eyebrow.

"That was a lame, cheap shot. He's just trying to bait us." Damon says.

"Crap song." I mutter. Damon smirks at me

"I know everyone here." Elena says.

"Maybe he's not here. Mayne he just wants us to believe that he is." Stefan says. I sigh.

"It's a party, people. Blend. Let him come to us." Damon says.

"Good idea." Bonnie says, taking Luka's and going to dance. Anna drags Jeremy off, much to his disdain, and Elena takes Stefan's arm to go and dance. Damon takes my hand and leadse out to dance.

After a little while he spots Ric. "There's Ric. Come on." He says, starting to lead me over. I stop him.

"Something is off, but I don't know what." I tell him.

"We'll keep an eye out." He says, kissing me before leading me over to Ric.

"Special dedication, huh? This guy's a little twisted." Ric says as we reach him.

"I'm not impressed." Damon says.

"No?" Ric asks.

"It was a crap song." I shrug.

"Let me know if you see anything out of whack." Damon says before leading me away again.

"You know if Klaus is here and Bonnie channels that much power alone it will kill her, right? And Luka can't help as we can't have Klaus knowing." I tell him.

"I know. We'll work it out." He tells me.

Stefan comes storming over at that moment. I groan as I realise he must have heard what I said.

"You told Elena." Damon groans.

"Yeah, I told her. No more secrets." Stefan replies.

"I'll find her." I say before heading outside where Elena and Bonnie are talking. Just as I reach them Ric comes up behind me.

"Elena!" He calls.

"What is it?" Elena asks.

"He has Jeremy." Ric says.

"What?" All three of us exclaim.

"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy. Come on." Ric says, leading us into the school through a side door.

"Something is off." I mumble at them.

"Okay, so where are you taking us?" Elena asks.

"Just a little further." Ric says. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Wait...Something's not right." Elena says. "Where's Jeremy?"

"I just had to get away from that dance. The sixties, ugh. Not my decade." Ric says, laughing. "I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."

"Alaric. Are you on vervain?" Elena asks. I shake my head as realisation hits me.

"Now why would you ask me that question, Elena?" Ric asks, amused.

"He's been compelled." Elena says.

"I don't think so." I say.

"Nope. Try again." Ric says, smirking at me.

"What's going on?" Elena asks.

"Okay, I'll give you a hint. I am not Alaric." Tic says. Elena finally realises what he means.

"Klaus!" Elena exclaims.

"Surprise!" Riklaus replies.

"Oh, no. No, it's not possible." She says.

"It's very possible." I tell her. Bonnie nods.

"Just relax, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight. Neither are you, my niece." He says, looking from Elena to me. Then he turns to look at Bonnie. "But you are."

Riklaus starts towards Bonnie, but she throws him against the wall using her powers.

"Now, did I mention that I knew a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that." He says, before rushing back over towards Bonnie. She throws him against a display case which smashes. He laughs as he falls to the ground again before getting up. "By all means...Fire away! If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy."

"Go. Run. Run!" Bonnie shouts. We all start running. As we get through a set of doors Bonnie closes them using her powers. I turn round to see Damon and run into his arms.

"What happened?" Damon asks. I bury my head in his neck to breathe his scent and calm me down. "Are you or the baby hurt?" he asks quietly so only I cam hear. I shake my head no.

"Klaus is in Alaric's body." Elena explains.

"What?" Damon asks.

"He's possessing it or something." Bonnie says.

"Go find Stefan. Now." He says to Elena.

"Okay." Elena replies, still standing there.

"Now." Damon tells her sternly, whilst running his hands up and down my back. She leaves.

"Can you kill him?" Damon asks Bonnie.

"He's got some kind of protection spell on him." Bonnie says, shaking her head.

"You have the power of a hundred witches. Break it." Damon sneers in response.

"I'm trying! If I kill Alaric, he'll just possess someone else. He knows I have my power, Damon. He's trying to kill me." Bonnie tells him.

"What if I help?" I say.

"No. You're pregnant and Klaus does not get to win tonight, no way. Bonnie's right, we kill Ric's body he'll use someone else's." Damon says before turning to Bonnie. "You still willing to do whatever it takes to kill him?"

"Of course I am." Bonnie replies.

"What do you have in mind?" I ask.

"Can you act like you're giving it your best shot then play dead?" Damon asks Bonnie.

"Yes." Bonnie nods in response with a small smile.

"Are you sure about this Bon?" I ask her.

"I'm sure. You'll need to get me out of here quickly though. The spell will only last an hour, and I need to be hidden." she explains. Damon and I both nod.

"I think he's in the cafeteria. Go do your thing and we'll come and get you once he thinks you're dead." Damon says. Bonnie nods and leaves.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Damon asks.

"He knows I'm his niece." I say.

"You best tell Elijah that he knows." he tells me. I nod in response.

We stand there for a while, wrapped in each others arms, listening to the noises in the distance as Bonnie finds Klaus. We hear Stefan and Elena heading that way and go to meet them.

_"Don't tell them, Klaus needs to think it's real."_ Damon thinks to me. I nod in response.

We reach the corridor Stefan and Elena are running down and Damon indicates I should stay hidden before stepping out in front of them.

"There you are." Damon says.

"What are you doing? Where's Bonnie?" Elena asks.

"She's doing what she has to do." Damon replies.

"What?" Elena screeches.

"Where is she?" Stefan asks.

"Stefan, let her do this." Damon replies.

"Damn it, Damon, where is she?!" Stefan shouts. I roll my eyes. They still always believe the worst of Damon. Then again he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him as long as it gets what needs to be done, done.

Damon just looks at them in response, so Elena and Stefan move past him to find Bonnie. I step out and he wraps an arm around my waist.

"You did the right thing. They can't know or their reaction wouldn't have been real. I still hate how they're always so quick to think bad of you." I tell him.

"It's okay, it gets things done." He replies with a shrug.

We listen as the fight continues. We hear when Elena and Stefan reach them and Bonnie locks the door with her powers so they can't get in. We start moving through the corridors towards them so we can get Bonnie out of there quickly.

_"Ready to act?"_ Damon asks in my head. I nod in response with a small smile. We hear everything go quiet and Elena shouting at Bonnie, then telling Stefan she's not breathing.

I look at Damon, silently asking if I should run ahead. He gives a single nod in response and I run towards them.

"Bonnie!" I cry, before falling down by her side, tears sliding down my face.

"Stefan! Stefan, I can't find her pulse! Stefan! Do something, please! Stefan, please! Just give her blood, do something, please!" Elena cries out.

"It's too late. I'm sorry." Stefan replies.

"No! No. No, no, no, no, no! Bonnie! Bonnie, please, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Elena cries out. Despite knowing this is fake I can't help but be upset that my sister is heartbroken over her friend.

Just then Damon arrives and pulls me arms.

"Stefan, get Elena out of here. We'll deal with the body." he says.

"What do you mean, deal with it?" Elena asks.

"The sheriff can't know about this. Last thing we need's another mysterious death." Damon replies.

"This is Bonnie!" Elena says.

"Get her home. Now. So I can clean this up." Damon says, looking at Stefan. Stefan then grabs Elena and starts to lead her out.

"No. Jeremy. Oh, my God, Jeremy. What about Jeremy?" Elena asks.

"He's with Anna, they'll be fine. We'll see you back at the house." I say.

Stefan leads Elena out, leaving us alone with Bonnie.

Damon kisses my forehead and sighs, before letting me go and going to Bonnie. He gently closes her eyes before quickly flitting round cleaning up. Once done he picks her up and we head out to his car. He places Bonnie in the trunk so she can't be seen and we drive out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going to take her?" I ask.

"Witches house I think. Can you call Luka to meet us there?" Damon asks. I nod and call Luka. I explain the situation and he agrees to grab some things for Bonnie and meet us there.

When we arrive we take Bonnie to the basement and get her settled. Luka arrives shortly after having explained everything to Jonas. We leave and when we get in the car I throw my head back and let out a big sigh. Damon leans over and kisses me.

"Come on, let's get home. Jenna is looking after Scarlett overnight." He tells me. I nod and let my eyes close.

We arrive back at the boarding house and head into the parlour where Stefan and Elena are.

"What did you do with her?!" Elena growls at Damon.

"Elena, calm down." I say. She just shakes her head.

"Will you please calm her down?" Damon asks Stefan.

"Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you." Elena says.

"You didn't listen to your sister. Please calm down." Damon says.

"You knew! Didn't you? You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that she would die, didn't you?" Elena asks.

"Yes. Yes, I knew." Damon replies. Elena slaps him. I growl at her and move in front of Damon. No one hits my soulmate! Damon wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me back against him. He kisses my head before speaking.

"You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say. Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. She wasn't prepared for that. He wasn't going to stop, and we weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. Imogen couldn't help because she's pregnant and I'm not going to let her risk our baby. Bonnie wouldn't let her either. Klaus had to believe it. She cast a spell. Bonnie's okay." He says before leading me towards the stairs. Stefan follows us.

"You know, you could have told me." Stefan says when we're halfway up the stairs.

"How do I know when you're going to go blabbing things to your girlfriend?" Damon retorts.

"You understand what you both put her through?" Stefan asks.

"We do, and we had to." I say.

"See, that's why I didn't tell you. 'Cause you would have never been able to do it. Don't get me wrong, Stefan. I don't mind being the bad guy. I'll make all the life and death decisions while you're busy worrying about collateral damage. I don't care who hates me for it as long as Imogen is still in my life. I will do what is necessary to make her happy." Damon says before turning around and leading me up the rest of the stairs.

Once we get to our room I fall onto the bed with a big sigh.

"You okay Imz?" Damon asks, pouring himself a bourbon.

"I will be. Just been a long night." I say. He puts down his glass and comes over to bed. He sits next to me and leans down to kiss me.

"Doing what is needed is not usually the easiest way baby."

"I know, I get it. I just feel tired and emotionally all over the place. Damn hormones." I reply.

"You said it would be a rollercoaster." He replies.

"I did, and it will be. For both of us." I reply.

"Bring it on. I missed all this with Scarlett, I will be by your side through everything this time." he replies, kissing me again.

"I love you." I say.

"I love you too." He replies, leaning his forehead against mine. There's a knock at the door sonhe gets up to open it. Elena is stood on the other side. I sit up on the bed.

"Ugh. Look. Klaus had to think she was dead. Your reaction had to be real." He tells her.

"I understand why you did what you did. Klaus was fooled, and Bonnie's alive." Elena replies.

"Here's to duplicity." Damon replies, grabbing his glass of bourbon and raising it to her.

"But let's get one thing straight, Damon. Bonnie will not die for me, I will not let that happen." Elena says.

"We don't intend for that to happen 'Lena. You know the plan for the sacrifice. Tonight was not expected and Klaus wasn't going to stop until he believed Bonnie was dead." I say. She nods in response.

"I get it now." She says to me, before turning to Damon. "Look, I shouldn't have hit you."

"Apology accepted. Let me be clear about something though. I will do whatever it takes to keep my wife alive and happy. Make no mistake about that. Whatever. It. Takes." He says.

She stares at him for a few seconds before turning towards the door. "Good night." She says before leaving.

"Good night." Damon replies before closing the door behind her. I let out a big sigh and lie back down.

"Come on you, let's take a bath to relax." He says, before heading into the bathroom to get it ready. I join him and we enjoy our bath together before heading to bed. I can't help but think the next few days will be tough.


	41. Love Me'Til The Day I Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sorry again for the wait! Between working from home and playing teacher I've been busier than usual. I started this story in September when my daughter had returned to school and having her home and having to do school work with her after I finish work is eating into my reading and writing time.

**April 27th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Youngblood; 5 Seconds of Summer**

_And I'm just a dead man walking tonight_

_But you need it, yeah, you need it_

_All of the time_

_Yeah, ooh ooh ooh_

**Imogen's POV**

We wake late as Scarlett was with Jenna overnight. Damon has his arms wrapped around me and his hands are on my tummy. I smile before dashing out of bed to the bathroom to vomit. Damon comes in behind me and holds my hair out of the way, rubbing my back gently.

"Urgh" I groan out.

"You okay? Is there something wrong?" He asks, worriedly.

"I'm fine. Morning sickness, another pregnancy symptom." I explain.

He kisses my head as I go to the sink to brish my teeth.

We get ready for the day and I call Elijah to let him know Klaus is in Ric's body and he knows I'm his niece. He tells me not to worry about it and that tomorrow is the full moon so Klaus will likely be in his normal body very soon.

We head out to Ric's apartment as we think that may be where Katherine is. We break the door open.

"Katherine." Damon says.

"What are you doing here?" She asks.

"We are here to see if you deserve to be rescued." He replies.

"I'm really not sure why." I say, rolling my eyes.

"I figured when you disappeared from the tomb you still might be kicking. Riklaus was blending way too easily. Figured he probably had some coaching." Damon explains, rolling a vial of clear liquid on his fingers.

"Is that...?" Katherine starts, before breaking off.

"Vervain? Your salvation." Damon replies.

"He compelled me to stay here. It's not going to undo anything." Katherine says.

"There's always a loophole. Did he tell you to stay in this apartment until he said it was okay to leave?" Damon asks. Katherine tries to reply but is unable to.

"You can't say. Did he tell you to do absolutely everything he says until the end of time?"

"No." She replies.

"There's your loophole. Drink this and it'll prevent any further compulsion." Damon says.

"Why are we helping her?" I ask, confused.

"Because despite what she did to me and Stefan, when she ran from Klaus she was just a scared teenager. She doesn't deserve to be tortured by him." He explains.

"Careful. You're showing your soft side again." I reply.

"I might just want to torture her myself." He replies with a glint in his eyes before tossing the vial to Katherine.

"Be careful with that. If he finds out you have that, you're never getting out of here." He says as she opens the vial and takes a sip before coughing.

"You owe me. And I will collect." Damon tells her before turning around and walking away. I follow him with a sigh.

We head to pick Scarlett up before heading home. When we are there we convince Jenna and Jeremy to stay at the boarding house because of Klaus being in Ric's body, which they agree to and they join us a little later. We know that with Klaus in town and the full moon being tomorrow it is likely the sacrifice will happen tomorrow night, so we spend the rest of the day together, just in case things don't go as planned.

* * *

**April 28th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

The next morning I wake with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I know tonight is the full moon and I'm not looking forward to what will happen. I groan and roll over to look at my husband.

"Morning" he says.

"Morning" I sigh.

"Elijah and Sophia are coming over this morning aren't they?" He asks.

"They are." I say, leaning over to kiss him before hopping out of bed to get ready.

Once we're all ready we head to the kitchen. Damon puts Scarlett in her high chair and gives her breakfast. I get us blood bags from the basement. I've found if I stick with blood instead of food I don't get as sick. Once we're done we head to the library where we're joined by Stefan and Elena. A short while later the doorbell rings. Damon goes to answer and is followed back in by Elijah and Sophia.

Once we've said our hellos Elijah gets straight down to business.

"Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse." He says.

"I thought the same." I say.

"All right, how do we break this curse?" Stefan asks.

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know." Elijah replies.

"The moonstone." Stefan says.

Elijah nods. "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."

"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asks.

"The final part of the ritual." Elijah says, holding up a wooden box. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelgänger...to the point of your death."

Stefan takes Elena's hand. Damon rubs my back gently and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"And that's where you come in." Elena says.

"This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation." Elijah explains, holding up a glass bottle from the wooden box.

"So I'll be dead?" Elena asks.

"And then you won't." Elijah replies. Stefan raises an eyebrow.

"Sophia and I have checked and tested the potion. It will work.

"What about John's ring as a back up plan?" Stefan asks.

"Those rings only work on humans. The doppelgänger's a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work." Elijah replies..I nod in agreement.

"What if it doesn't work, Elena?" Stefan asks sadly.

"Then I guess I'll just be dead." Elena says with a shrug.

"It will work." I say. Sophia nods in agreement.

Elena gives me a small smile in response and Damon kisses my head. Stefan sighs and walks out.

"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?" Elena asks.

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will." Elijah replies.

"Hopefully it's that bitch Jules. I like Mason." Damon says.

"Damon Salvatore admits to liking someone. Shocker!" I say, giving him a nudge. He rolls his eyes at me.

"You'd think he'd understand why I'm willing to do this." Elena sighs, referring to Stefan.

"Why are you?" Sophia asks.

"I'm the key to breaking the curse. Klaus is here because of me. If I don't stop him, then he's going to hurt people. It's that simple." Elena replies.

We hear Jenna and Alaric near the front door so we all head towards them.

"Get out!" Jenna shouts.

"Jenna, Jenna!" Ric replies.

"Get out!" Jenna shouts again, aiming a crossbow at him.

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay? It's me." Ric says.

"Stay away from me." Jenna scowls. Stefan appears.

"What's going on?" Elena asks.

"It's me, Elena, I swear, okay? He let me go. Klaus let me go." Ric tells her.

"Prove it." Damon asks, narrowing his eyes at Ric.

Ric looks at Jenna. "Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to..."

"Okay, it's him." She says, interrupting him and lowering the crossbow.

"Why did he let you go?" Stefan asks.

"He wanted me to deliver a message. The sacrifice happens tonight." Ric replies.

"We figured as much." I say with a sigh.

We all move into the parlour and take seats. I sit in Damon's lap with my head resting on his chest. He wraps his arms around me and rubs my back.

"So you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asks.

"No. It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine was there." Ric replies.

"She's under compulsion. Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can." Stefan tells Ric.

"So what else did I do?" Ric asks.

We fill Ric in on what happened whilst Klaus was in his body. Once we're finished Elijah, Sophia, Jenna and Ric all leave. Jeremy is out with Anna, and Stefan takes Elena out for the day, leaving Damon, Scarlett and I in the house.

We enjoy a few hours together before Damon leaves to meet Ric. I promised I would stay at home with Scarlett as Damon doesn't want any harm coming to me or the baby. It's frustrating but I understand. Jenna comes over to keep me company and we spend the evening watching movies, anxiously waiting for everyone to return home.

* * *

**Damon's POV**

I head to the Grill to meet Ric, frustrated that I have to leave my pregnant wife and our daughter at home. I know she can look after herself, and that no one can get in without her keying them into the talisman, but I always hate being away from Imogen. The soulmate bond starts to hurt until we're back together.

I slide onto a stool at the bar and order a drink.

"I'll have the same." Ric says, taking the stool next to me.

We sit in comfortable silence until a sandy haired man approaches us.

"Gentlemen? Why so glum?" He says.

"Ugh. Klaus, I presume." I say, taking a swig of my whiskey.

"In the flesh." He replies before turning to Ric. "Thanks for the loaner, mate."

"Any reason you stopped by to say hi?" I say with a huff.

"I'm told your brother fancies my doppelgänger, and you're married to my niece, who happens to be her adopted sister. Just thought I'd remind you to not do anything you'll regret." Klaus says.

"Ha. Thanks for the advice. I don't suppose I could talk you into a postponement, by any chance, huh?" I ask.

"You are kidding?" He says, before turning to Ric. "He is kidding, right?"

"No, not really." Ric tells him.

"It will upset my wife, you know, your niece. Had to try." I explain.

"Let me be clear...I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight. So if you want to live to see tomorrow, don't screw it up." Klaus says before leaving.

"That was fun." I say to Ric.

"Do you really want to be pissing off your in laws?" Ric asks. I shrug in response.

"You think his Vampire and werewolf are anyone we know?" I ask.

"I think you'll be dead if you interfere." Ric replies.

"But if he has someone we know they'll be dead and that will upset my wife." I say.

"And you'll be dead if you interfere."

"Are you gonna help me or what?" I ask.

Ric sighs. "What do you want me to do?"

"We need to visit Katherine and see if she knows who he has." I say. "You need to invite me in."

Ric nods. "Okay. Let's get out of here."

We head to Ric's apartment and as soon as he enters we hear Katherine.

"Look who's dumb enough to come back." She says.

"Well, somebody had to invite him in. Damon. Would you like to, uh, come in?" Ric says. I walk into the apartment.

Katherine rushes over to me. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

I pin her against the wall. "I gave you vervain, now I'm here to collect. I got it from here, Ric." I say.

"You sure?" Ric asks.

"Yeah, only one of us needs to get blamed for thisif it's anyone we know. Get back to the house." I sayml.

"Okay." Ric replies, leaving.

"Get blamed for what?" Katherine asks.

"I need to know who Klaus has as his vampire and werewolf, and where they are." I say.

"Why? What are you going to do?" Katherine asks.

"Free them if it's anyone we know. And like." I say.

"No. You can't interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you've ever met." Katherine says.

"Imogen is already at risk of losing her sister. She's not losing anyone else." I growl.

"No. No way."

"You should like this. It's going to buy at least another month of your pathetic life." I growl out.

"Right. Except that I'm not the vampire he's planning on sacrificing." She replies.

"What?" I say, startled.

"Yeah. He's got Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood. Therefore, I'm in the clear." Katherine replies.

"Fuck. And where'd he get that idea from?" I ask, knowing it came from her. I walk towards her menacingly.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, I'm just trying to stay alive long enough to get myself out of here." She says, holding her hands up.

"Where are they?" I grind out through gritted teeth.

"The tomb. He's got them in the tomb." She replies.

"Thank you." I reply, then I leave.

I arrive at the tomb to find a male witch protecting Caroline and Tyler.

"Which one are you trying to save? The blond, or the wolf? Did you really think Klaus would leave them unprotected?" He asks me.

"Wishful thinking." I reply with a sigh.

I rush over to the male witch and pin him on the ground. I start strangling him but he uses his powers and throws me back against some rocks. I groan as I hit the ground. The witch gets up and uses his powers to give me a witchy migraine, causine to scream out in pain. I think of Imogen, Scarlett and my unborn child and try to fight it. Suddenly I hear a gunshot and the witch falls to the ground. I look up and see Matt with a rifle. I quickly get up, snap the witches neck and look at Matt, quirking an eyebrow in suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Where's Caroline?" He asks in response.

I sigh. "Listen, man. Not a good time to play the hero." I tell him. He cocks the rifle and points it at me.

"Where is she? And what did he do to her?" He asks.

I put my hands up and start walking towards him slowly "I'm just here to rescue her." I say before rushing over to him and hitting him with the butt of the rifle, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious. I pick up the rifle and clear the bullets out of it.

"You're lucky I already screwed up once today or you'd be dead." I mutter as I crouch down to pick up the bullet. I realise they're wooden and sigh again before standing up and heading into the tomb.

"Damon?" Caroline asks as I enter. I walk over to where she's chained up next to Tyler.

"Your boyfriend's outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets. You have some explaining to do." I tell her.

"What, Matt?" She asks.

"Matt knows about you?" Tyler asks.

"No, I..." she starts to reply.

I interrupt her. "Shh. Tomorrow's problem." I say as I rip the chains apart so she can get up. "Let's just get you out of here." I start to walk towards the exit.

"Wait, Damon No! I'm not leaving without him." Caroline says.

I groan. "Ohhh. It's getting dark soon. How fast can you get the hell away from here?" I say to Tyler.

"I need to get to my family's cellar. I can lock myself up." He replies.

"I'll help." Caroline adds.

I go over and crouch in front of him. "Don't make me regret this. Call Mason." I say before breaking his chains.

We leave the tomb as it's getting dark. Matt is starting to wake up so Caroline rushes over to him.

"Hey, Matt!" She says before turning to me. "Hey. Did you hit him?!"

"Did you already forget about the part with the gun and the wooden bullets?" I say incredulously.

Tyler interrups us by growling and holding his chest whilst looking at the moon. I let out another groan. Imogen is going to handy ass to me.

"Tyler? Tyler?" Caroline calls.

"It's starting." he replies. I roll my eyes, it's obvious it's starting.

"Grab boy wonder and let's go." I say before stalking off into the woods.

"Come on." Caroline says grabbing Matt.

"What's happening? Is he okay?" Matt asks.

"He better not wolf out on us." I say as my phone starts to ring. I pull it out and see Stefan's name on the screen. I groan before hitting the button to answer.

"Bad time, little bro."

_"What the hell are you doing?"_ He asks.

"Saving the day. Klaus had Caroline and Tyler. I figured you'd understand." I reply.

_"Klaus came and took Elena."_ He replies.

"It's part of the plan. I just hope he has another wolf and vamp because he ain't getting these two." I tell him before hanging up.

I see Tyler double over and fall to the ground as his transformation begins. Fuck.

"Tyler!" Matt calls.

"I don't know if I can hold it off. Get out of here." Tyler says.

"Tyler, it'll be okay." Caroline tells him.

"Go!" Tyler shouts.

"You've got time. We're almost there, just..." Caroline soothes.

"It's happening faster." Tyler grinds out.

"Tyler, it's okay." Caroline says.

Tyler looks up and I see his eyes are yellow. He rushes over towards Caroline so I intercept him. We both fall to the ground, me on my back with Tyler above me. I try to push him off but he snaps, catching my arm in the process. If this doesn't kill me Imogen will.

"Damon..." Caroline starts as I get up.

"I'm fine." I say, hoping that as he wasn't fully changed it will be okay.

"Get out of here!" Tyler shouts.

"Get to the Lockwood cellar. If it held him in, it'll keep him out. If it doesn't...use these." I say handing Caroline the rifle and wooden bullets. "It'll buy you a couple seconds. Go. Go!"

They run towards the cellar and I leave to go to to Ric's apartment.

Once there I run through the door at vamp speed, stopping behind Klaus.

"I wasn't aware you'd been invited in." Klaus says.

"I've come here to tell you that you need to find another vampire and werewolf for your ritual. It's bad enough you're sacrificing Elena, my wife doesn't need to lose two friends too." I tell him. "Oh, I also killed your witch."

Klaus picks up his phone. "The nice thing about werewolves is they tend to travel in packs. Need a closer look?" He says, throwing the phone to me. I look at the screen.

"Jules. You couldn't have picked better." I say with a smirk.

"When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse...You learn a thing or two. First rule...always have a backup. Backup werewolf. Backup witch." Klaus says.

"Backup vampire." I finish.

"I've got that covered, too." Klaus replies before knocking me out.

"Hey. Damon. Hey. Damon!" I hear a female voice saying. My cheeks are being slapped and I can taste blood in my mouth.

"Ahh. What the hell happened?" I ask.

"He's gone. He went to do the ritual." Katherine says.

"We want him to, just not with Caroline and Tyler." I tell her. She nods in response.

"What is this, Damon?" Grabbing my arm.

I sigh. "It's a werewolf bite. And if that doesn't kill me, my wife will for getting it."

"So that's what a werewolf bite looks like." She asks.

"Yep."

"It's not that bad." She says.

"Will be." I say, rolling down my sleeve to hide it.

"So that's it? You're just...going to die?" Katherine asks.

"Well, that depends. You know anything about a cure?" I ask. She shakes her head no. I sigh. "Me, either."

"145 years and no last goodbye?" She asks.

I look at her incredulously. "You don't get a goodbye."

"No. Don't leave mad." She says.

"Us ending up on good terms isn't exactly on my bucket list, Katherine."

I try to leave but she stops me.

"You're fucked." Katherine says.

"I know. I best go make sure the rest of the night goes to plan." I say before leaving and heading to the quarry.

I'm walking through the streets when I see John Gilbert.

"Great. I was just thinking about getting a bite to eat." I say with a menacing grin.

"Elena hasn't returned any of my calls for days. I need to see her." He replies.

"Well, you're a day late and a daughter short, John." I reply.

"What are you talking about?" He asks.

"Klaus has her. Sacrifice goes down tonight." I reply.

"How could you let that happen? You were supposed to keep her safe. Wasn't that the sum total of your plan? To keep her safe?" He replies.

"She is safe. Elijah has a potion that will bring her back to life."

"You what?!" John shouts.

"When Klaus kills Elena in the sacrifice, she will come back to life." I tell him.

John tries to grab me but I use my speed and spin him around, grabbing him instead.

"You do not want to mess with me right now." I growl out.

"How do you know the potion will work?" He asks.

"Imogen tested it. She thinks it will work."

"We need something more concrete than that. I have an idea. Where's Bonnie?" He asks.

"At the witch house." I reply with a sigh before leading him there, via the Gilbert house to grab a box of journals.

Once we arrive at the witch house I stay upstairs talking to Ric whilst John goes down to talk to Bonnie, Luka and Jonas. After a while I head downstairs.

"We found something in the Gilbert journals." Bonnie tells me.

"Johnathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily's services. The woman's baby was sick; dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind the woman's life force with her child." John says.

"Skip to the save Elena part." I tell him impatiently.

"Well, the child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her to life." He continues.

"How is this any different to the potion? They both rely on magic." I ask.

"Magic, nature, demands balance. Giving her my life force will maintain the balance. It will work." He tells me.

"Whatever. Your daughter, your call. I would do the same for Scarlett." I say.

Bonnie moves to place her hands on either side of his head and starts chanting. After a few minutes I get impatient.

"Come on, Bonnie, we got a hybrid to kill." I say. Luka and Jonas both glare at me to be quiet.

"It's done." Bonnie says a few moments later, removing her hands.

"That's it? Let's go." I say, walking out of the room. Bonnie, Luka and Jonas follow.

"It's time." Elijah says as we reach the top of the stairs. We walk out of the house.

"All right. I got the weapons in the car." Ric says, following behind us.

"Jonas, Luka and Bonnie are the only weapons we need." Elijah tells him.

Ric tries to leave the house but is held back by an invisible barrier.

"What is this?" He shouts.

"We can't put anyone else at risk." Bonnie tells him.

"I can't stay here!" Ric replies.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie says.

"You can't do this! Damon?"

"Sorry, buddy. She's right. You need to stay safe. Let us handle this." I say as we all walk away.

"No! You can't do this. Bonnie! Bonnie!" I hear Ric shout as he hits the doorframe in anger.

We head to the quarry and arrive just as Klaus finishes drinking Elena's blood. I see Stefan laid on the ground with wood sticking out of his back. He must have tried to stop the ritual somehow.

"I can feel it. It's happening." We hear Klaus say, looking up at the moon. I hear his bones begin to crack and can see he has yellow eyes, but still has the black veins of a vampire below his eyes. "Yes, yes!"

Klaus is suddenly thrown through the air. I see the flames in the bowl reignite, startling Greta. Jonas starts going down the hillside, followed by Bonnie and Luka, all three chanting a spell. Before Greta can react, I sneak up behind her and knock her unconscious, then I kneel down to pick up Elena.

"No! You were dead! And who the hell are the other two?" Klaus shouts. They don't reply, carrying on their chant. I see Klaus contort with pain, and hear his screams. I carry Elena over to Stefan and lay her down next to him. I kneel down and rip the wood from his back, causing him to grunt in pain. I go to help him stand up but he grabs my jacket, stopping me.

"I need you to get her out of here!" He grits out.

"What about you?" I ask.

"I'm not leaving until he's dead. Go!" He replies.

I sigh and pick up Elena's body. I start to walk away when I hear Klaus. I stop walking and turn around to watch.

"Elijah?" He says.

"Hello, brother." Elijah replies, punching his arm into Klaus' chest and grabbing his heart.

"In the name of our family, Niklaus..." Elijah says, twisting his hand.

"I didn't bury them at sea!" Klaus shouts out.

"What?" Elijah asks.

"Their bodies are safe. If you kill me, you'll never find them." Klaus tells him.

"Elijah! Don't listen to him." I hear Stefan shout. I can't believe that all this might have been in vain.

"Elijah. I can take you to them. I give you my word...brother." Klaus says. I see Elijah hesitating.

"Do it and I'll take you both out." Bonnie says. I know she's only saying herself as Jonas and Luka probably wouldn't go against Elijah.

"You'll die." Elijah says.

"I don't care." Bonnie replies.

Elijah looks down at Klaus and then back up. He looks me in the eye as he speaks. "I'm sorry."

I hear Bonnie and Stefan both shout No and start running towards them. Before they can get close Elijah flees with Klaus.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I'm not looking forward to going home and telling my wife that her own father double crossed us, on top of the werewolf bite I got from Tyler. I can only pray that Elena will at least wake up so she doesn't lose her sister too.


	42. Heroes Never Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the delay in an update, again. This is the last chapter for Season 2, and I will be starting a new fic for Seasons 3 and 4
> 
> I've been reading a lot of Twilight fics recently, I've developed an obsession with Jasper and I'm loving any Jasper/Bella or Jasper/OC fics. I've been toying with the idea of bringing Jasper into my fic, with Bella. Damon could call on his old war friend to help track down Stefan whilst he's off with Klaus perhaps. If I did that I would probably write a new fic that is Jasper/Bella (but the vampires are TVD style not sparkly cold ones) and then pick this back up and merge the two. What are everyone's thoughts? Keep this TVD only or make it a crossover? Please let me know!

**April 29th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Song: Finish Line; Skillet**

_Heroes never die_

_Gonna make it to the finish line_

_We know we survive_

_Even if we crawl to the finish line_

_I won't believe it, underdog dreamin'_

_Don't need no cheers, world's gonna see it_

_Heroes never die_

_Gonna make it to the finish line_

**Imogen's POV**

I wake with Damon's shirt clad arm wrapped around my waist. I fell asleep before Damon arrived home last night, and I didn't stir when he came to bed. I'm guessing he was exhausted too since he didn't manage to change out of his clothes. I roll over to face him.

"Morning. How did it go last night?" I ask. Damon sighs.

"John gave his life for Elena, so she came back to life, and he's dead." He tells me.

"The potion would have worked." I say. Damon shrugs.

"He wasn't so sure, and it gets rid of one annoyance in our lives."

"True. I know I should be sad, I was raised with him as my Uncle, I'm just not. I never liked him." I say. "What about Klaus?"

"Ahh. That. He told Elijah he didn't really ditch your aunt and uncles bodies at sea and if Elijah killed him he'd never know where they were, so Elijah double crossed us and didn't kill him." Damon explains.

I close my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Never trust family." I grumble.

"There's more." Damon says. I open my eyes and cock an eyebrow at him.

"I found out Katherine suggested he use Caroline and Tyler as his vampire and wolf."

"Please tell me he didn't?" I exclaim.

"Shhh Imz. I rescued them. He used Jules as his wolf and a Vampire I've never seen before."

I heave a big sigh of relief. My sister and friends are all still alive.

"Too tired to change last night?" I ask indicating Damon's shirt.

"Not quite. I never lie to you Imz, but please don't overreact." He says.

"What do you mean don't overreact. What happened Damon?" I ask.

"Yes Damon, what happened?" Stefan asks, appearing in the door.

He sighs and rolls up his shirt sleeve, revealing a bite on his arm.

"Damon! What is this? Why isn't it healed?" I ask.

"Tyler Lockwood started changing after I rescued him and Caroline. He went for Caroline so I tackled him, but he got a nip in."

I start to cry. Werewolf bites are fatal to Vampires.

"We'll work something out. There has to be something, a cure." Stefan says, coming over and taking a look at Damon's arm. "We brought Elena back to life, we can find a way to save you. Your wife and children need you." Stefan says. I sit there sobbing.

Damon pulls me into his arms and kisses my head. Stefan gives us a last look and leaves.

"You can't die Damon. I need you. Scarlett needs you. We have a baby on the way."

"I know, Imz. I know." He replies with a sigh.

"I'll look through my grimoires. I wonder if I could siphon the werewolf venom out? I would ask Sophia but I don't want to see Elijah after his betrayal."

"I understand. I would rather you didn't siphon it out. You've not died and become a full original hybrid, the venom could affect you. I won't risk you or our baby."

I nod sadly. We can hear Stefan speaking with Bonnie on the phone, asking her to help him find a cure. We can only hope he finds something before it's too late.

I sigh. "I'm going to go through my grimoires."

We hear the door close downstairs, and we hear Scarlett starting to wake. I start to cry again.

"I'll get her." Damon says softly, kissing my head. He returns a few minutes later with a freshly changed Scarlett. We head downstairs and get her breakfast whilst I start reading through my grimoires.

* * *

A couple of hours later I'm still reading through, having not found anything yet.

"Imz, Stefan called and said there will be a small funeral for John. I know you didn't like him but we should support your sister." He says.

I let a big sigh. "Okay. We'll go, and I'll see if Jenna will look after Scarlett." Damon nods in response.

We get ready and head to the cemetery. The funeral is short, and we leave quickly after, with Stefan promising that he is meeting Bonnie to try and find a cure. I can tell Damon is getting weaker, and search through my grimoires. Damon has wandered off, no doubt in search of scotch. Tears fall down my face at the thought of the love of my life dying. I suddenly hear Damon shout.

"Get off of me!"

"You're not doing this." I hear Stefan reply. I go to the Parlour to find Stefan ponning Damon down.

"Just did. We don't know what will happen as the venom speads, Stefan." Damon replies. I move out of the way as Stefan uses vamp speed to take Damon to the cellar. I follow.

"I don't care. You're not dying today." Stefan tells him as he closes the door, locking it. I go to stand next to him and we both look through the bars at my husband. I continue to cry and Stefan gives me a hug.

"What's the plan, Superman?" Damon asks, looking up and coughing.

"I'm gonna find a way out of this." Stefan replies.

"Oh, right. A miracle cure. Good luck with that one." Damon replies sarcastically.

"There must be something. There has to be, to keep the balance everyone always talks about." I say.

Stefan nods. "Bonnie is going to speak to the dead witches."

"I hope she has more luck than I have had." I say sadly.

Damon coughs some more and rolls onto his stomach. He looks up at me.

"I love you Imz. Always remember that."

I nod. "I love you."

"Lie still. Conserve your strength." Stefan says before leaving.

"I'm going to carry on with the grimoires. There has to be something." I say. Damon nods and rests his head on the floor. I head upstairs back to my grimoires.

A short while later Stefan comes into the library.

"I'm going to meet Bonnie. We'll find something, we'll save him." He tells me.

I look up at him, tears falling.

"I can't lose him Stef." I sob.

He hugs me. "I'm going to make sure you don't. Ric is coming to keep an eye on him. Go take a bath, or a nap, or both. Being this stressed isn't good for you or the baby."

I nod sadly in response and head upstairs. I soak in the bath for a while before falling asleep in our bed.

* * *

I'm woken up some time later to my phone ringing. I groan and reach over, answering grumpily.

"Hello?"

_"Imogen, it's Ric. Listen, Sheriff Forbes and her deputies showed up. They know Damon is a Vampire. They took him but he got loose outside and ran. I'm trying to find him, I need your help."_

"I'll be as quick as I can." I reply, hanging up. I quickly get dressed and head out the door.

I start running, trying to find Damon's scent and follow it. I pick up the trail and realise it's heading to the town square. A few minutes later I arrive and finally find him.

"Damon!" I call, running at human speed towards him.

"Imogen." He replies, a smile on his face. I grab hold of him and start to lead him home.

"Come on, we have to get you out of here." I say.

"Where are we going?" He asks.

"Home." I say.

It takes a while, but I manage to get home and to our bed. He is glistening with sweat so I get a washcloth and soak it in icy water. He is drifting in and out of consciousness. As I press the cloth to his face he stirs.

"Imz?" He asks.

"I'm right here." I sob.

"I could hurt you. You should go." He says.

"You won't. You're my soulmate, my other half. You won't hurt me. I'm here until the end."

He starts to cough and groan in pain.

"It's okay. It's okay." I murmur to him.

"Tell Stefan I'm sorry for making his life miserable for so long. I really am."

I nod my head. "I will."

I rest my head against his as more tears fall down my face.

"I'm sorry Imz. I love you, Scarlett and our baby. Take care of them for me."

I sob. "I don't know if I can do it without you."

"You're strong. You can do this." He whispers.

I shake my head no.

"Yes you are. Just remember I will always love you and I will always be with you in your heart and in our babies."

I nod, unable to speak. I lean down and kiss him gently.

"Thank you." He whispers. I nod and close my eyes.

Suddenly we hear the doorbell ring. I run downstairs to answer it to find Katherine standing there twirling a vial in her fingers.

"I brought the cure." She says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Klaus' blood." She tells me.

Stefan found the cure." I gasp.

"Yes, and he's paying for it." She says, tossing me the vial.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon. He just sacrificed everything to save his brother, and make sure his children still had a father." Katherine tells me.

"Thank you." I say.

Katherine gives me a soft smile. "Children need both parents." She replies before disappearing at vamp speed.

I run back upstairs to Damon and pour the blood into his mouth.

"What's that?" He asks.

"The cure. Klaus' blood." I explain.

"How?"

"Katherine brought it over. Stefan gave himself over to Klaus to save you." I explain, crying again.

"We'll save him. I'm just glad to be alive." He says, kissing me softly.

"I'm glad you're alive." I say, snuggling closer.

We lie in each others arms for a couple of hours as the blood heals Damon. Once he's healed we head into the shower before changing the sheets and climbing into bed. I lie with my head resting on his chest.

"Elena is going to hate me for Stefan giving himself over to save you." I say.

"She won't. We will find him though. I may have a friend who will help. Tonight though is about me and you. I love you Imz."

"I love you too."

The next several hours are spent making love to each other, each of us showing how much we love the other through every touch, kiss and caress. We eventually fall asleep, our bodies tangled together.

* * *

**April 30th 2010, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**Imogen's POV**

I wake the following morning laid with Damon, our bodies still entangled from the night before. I sigh, pleased that he is still alive, but sad at what Stefan had to give up to get the cure for him. I feel Damon kiss my head and look up at him.

"Hey" I say.

"Hey." He replies.

"We should go explain to everyone where Stefan has gone." I say with a sigh.

"I guess." Damon replies. We make out for a while until Scarlett wakes up. We reluctantly get up and ready for the day.

We head over to the Gilbert house. Jenna lets us in and we join everyone in the living room.

"Where's Stefan? Why isn't he answering his phone to me?" Elena demands.

"I'm sorry Elena. He gave himself over to Klaus to get the cure for Damon." I explain sadly.

"How is that fair? He saves Damon and I lose my boyfriend!" She shouts at me. I wince and start to cry.

"Listen Elena. He did it so my children have their father in their lives. Something I will be forever for. We will find him and bring him home." Damon tells her sternly.

"I'm sorry." She mumbles.

We stay there for a while, and Ric fills us in on Sheriff Forbes finding out about the supernatural in Mystic Falls through Matt. He also fills us in on the Sheriff attempting to shoot Damon and killing Jeremy instead, but Bonnie brought him back to life. It seema the Sheriff has realised that not all vampires are bad as she had always been led to believe. She is cautiously accepting of the band of misfits here in town.

Luka and Jonas disappeared after the ritual with Greta. Can't say I blame them. They got what they wanted; Greta back from Klaus.

We head home after catching up and get dinner. After putting Scarlett to bed we curl up in bed watching a movie. Things aren't going to get any easier for us, but for now we will enjoy a quiet night spent in wach others company before it all begins again tomorrow.


End file.
